Coimbatore : Experts, scientists and forest officials came together for an exclusive interaction on Saturday during the Ecological Festival of Western Ghats, on the existing elephant corridors in Tamil Nadu, to analyse threats and suggestions for their preservation.
Coimbatore : Experts, scientists and forest officials came together for an exclusive interaction on Saturday during the Ecological Festival of Western Ghats, on the existing elephant corridors in Tamil Nadu, to analyse threats and suggestions for their preservation.
A presentation on 14 corridors was given by K. Ramkumar from Wildlife Trust of India and experts including Ajay Desai, member of Asian Elephant Specialist Group, A.J.T. Johnsingh, B. Ramakrishnan, Professor at the Department of Wildlife Biology, Government Arts and Science College, Ooty, C. Badrasamy, honourary Wildlife Warden of Coimbatore Forest Division and V. Naganathan, Field Director of Sathyamangalam Tiger Reserve, discussed on the points presented.
The session saw the experts breaking down into each corridor and discuss the major threats for each of the corridor.
Means of diplomatic moves was also discussed along with finding ways to take the issues forward to the Government.
“The major threats for most of the corridors are blockages in the name of fences, walls, trenches, constructions and settlements. Only if these are removed, there would be a free passage for elephants,” said Ramkumar.
Earlier on the day, Ajay Desai, spoke about technical details of elephant corridors.
He said that habitats are fragmented at a large scale and it has become imperative to connect them. This connecting passage are corridors that see animal movement at different stages.
“Elephants move seasonally, there are daily movements in certain areas and dispersal is also a movement. If these movement paths are blocked, then the population could be cut off. Even a small linear structure could have a greater impact on the movement of the elephants,” he said.
He also urged that it was important to conserve all available corridors as all of them could be used by one population or the other.
The team is to submit a report based on the interactions to the Government to ensure their protection.
A presentation on 14 corridors was given by K. Ramkumar from Wildlife Trust of India and experts including Ajay Desai, member of Asian Elephant Specialist Group, A.J.T. Johnsingh, B. Ramakrishnan, Professor at the Department of Wildlife Biology, Government Arts and Science College, Ooty, C. Badrasamy, honourary Wildlife Warden of Coimbatore Forest Division and V. Naganathan, Field Director of Sathyamangalam Tiger Reserve, discussed on the points presented.
The session saw the experts breaking down into each corridor and discuss the major threats for each of the corridor.
Means of diplomatic moves was also discussed along with finding ways to take the issues forward to the Government.
“The major threats for most of the corridors are blockages in the name of fences, walls, trenches, constructions and settlements. Only if these are removed, there would be a free passage for elephants,” said Ramkumar.
Earlier on the day, Ajay Desai, spoke about technical details of elephant corridors.
He said that habitats are fragmented at a large scale and it has become imperative to connect them. This connecting passage are corridors that see animal movement at different stages.
“Elephants move seasonally, there are daily movements in certain areas and dispersal is also a movement. If these movement paths are blocked, then the population could be cut off. Even a small linear structure could have a greater impact on the movement of the elephants,” he said.
He also urged that it was important to conserve all available corridors as all of them could be used by one population or the other.
The team is to submit a report based on the interactions to the Government to ensure their protection.