Coimbatore : With casualties of humans and elephants on the rise in Coimbatore, the Coimbatore Forest Division has undoubtedly become the HEC hotspot in the State with 77 deaths between 2011 and 2018, which according to a report by elephant expert Ajay Desai is the highest in the State.
The veteran scientist in his report to the Madras High Court has also given short term and long term solutions to reduce Human-Elephant Conflict (HEC) in Coimbatore
Coimbatore : With casualties of humans and elephants on the rise in Coimbatore, the Coimbatore Forest Division has undoubtedly become the HEC hotspot in the State with 77 deaths between 2011 and 2018, which according to a report by elephant expert Ajay Desai is the highest in the State.
The report that was submitted to the Madras High Court on Monday also claims that 61 people have been injured by wild elephants in the same region, indicating that on an average, at least two people are killed every month with deaths ranging between 10 and 27 each year. Claiming that the increased human casualties could create a fear psychosis in people who are exposed to elephants, Desai had suggested that it would undermine the quality of their lives in addition to other economic losses caused by elephants. “It also means that the fear does not allow effective crop protection as people are not willing to face and drive away elephants which they consider as being dangerous. This not only increases crop or property damage but also emboldens elephants to enter deeper and more frequently into human areas, and thus escalate conflict,” said Desai’s report which was dated February 8.
Listing out some short term and long term solutions to reduce HEC in the Coimbatore Division, Ajay Desai has emphasised the importance of clearing out encroachments, mining and equipping the field staff of the department to identify individual elephants. As short term strategies, Desai has suggested to stop entry of young male and female herds into human areas by using Kumkis and trained field staff, including anti depredation squads and Rapid Response Team (RRT). He has also suggested managing a database of elephants that use the area to identify problem elephants.
In addition, a systematic and technical assessment of the Elephant Proof Trenches (EPTs) to identify gaps or breaches, studying the ranging of elephants in Coimbatore Division and Kallar to identify blocks on corridors and regular upgradation of the operational capacity of the field staff of the department have been suggested as short term strategies. For the longer run, Desai has suggested that the boundary barriers should be checked and made functional so that EPTs and electric fences can be effective in keeping straying animals inside the forest. He had also mentioned some successful barrier designs including the rail fence by Karnataka Forest Department and Armstrong design in Hosur Forest Division. Until the fences are put up, negative or aversion conditioning has been suggested in the report, wherein problem animals should be identified, constantly monitored and kept away by using dedicated RRT teams and Kumki elephants “or even with pepper spray delivered by drones.” Apart from using trained mahouts and older kumkis to guide younger kumkis to use negative conditioning successfully, an elephant camp has also been suggested in Coimbatore with suitable sites that have water, food and shelter with possibilities of rotating elephants between Mudumalai and Anamalai Tiger Reserves.
Desai has also further suggested securing the Kallar corridor by constructing a flyover to create free passage for elephants and also secure the Bhavanisagar backwater area that provides grass during the dry season. In order to allow free movement for elephants along the foothills, he has asked the removal of illegal encroachments of reserve forests, unregulated or illegal construction along the boundaries of forests in violation of various legislations including HACA regulations. Stating that 'Brick Kilns' were a major reason for elephant intrusion into human habitation, Desai’s report claims that as soil was extracted and the land made into fallow lands, grass started to grow attracting elephants into a mosaic of fallow and agricultural areas resulting in increased crop raiding opportunities and deeper penetration of elephants into agricultural areas. The use of Palmyra piths is also cited as a reason for elephant intrusion. Desai has further suggested the safeguarding of tribal lands inside the forest from illegal acquiring, securing water streams and strengthening the forest department in appointing new staff to tackle Human-Wildlife Conflict.
Coimbatore : With casualties of humans and elephants on the rise in Coimbatore, the Coimbatore Forest Division has undoubtedly become the HEC hotspot in the State with 77 deaths between 2011 and 2018, which according to a report by elephant expert Ajay Desai is the highest in the State.
The report that was submitted to the Madras High Court on Monday also claims that 61 people have been injured by wild elephants in the same region, indicating that on an average, at least two people are killed every month with deaths ranging between 10 and 27 each year. Claiming that the increased human casualties could create a fear psychosis in people who are exposed to elephants, Desai had suggested that it would undermine the quality of their lives in addition to other economic losses caused by elephants. “It also means that the fear does not allow effective crop protection as people are not willing to face and drive away elephants which they consider as being dangerous. This not only increases crop or property damage but also emboldens elephants to enter deeper and more frequently into human areas, and thus escalate conflict,” said Desai’s report which was dated February 8.
Listing out some short term and long term solutions to reduce HEC in the Coimbatore Division, Ajay Desai has emphasised the importance of clearing out encroachments, mining and equipping the field staff of the department to identify individual elephants. As short term strategies, Desai has suggested to stop entry of young male and female herds into human areas by using Kumkis and trained field staff, including anti depredation squads and Rapid Response Team (RRT). He has also suggested managing a database of elephants that use the area to identify problem elephants.
In addition, a systematic and technical assessment of the Elephant Proof Trenches (EPTs) to identify gaps or breaches, studying the ranging of elephants in Coimbatore Division and Kallar to identify blocks on corridors and regular upgradation of the operational capacity of the field staff of the department have been suggested as short term strategies. For the longer run, Desai has suggested that the boundary barriers should be checked and made functional so that EPTs and electric fences can be effective in keeping straying animals inside the forest. He had also mentioned some successful barrier designs including the rail fence by Karnataka Forest Department and Armstrong design in Hosur Forest Division. Until the fences are put up, negative or aversion conditioning has been suggested in the report, wherein problem animals should be identified, constantly monitored and kept away by using dedicated RRT teams and Kumki elephants “or even with pepper spray delivered by drones.” Apart from using trained mahouts and older kumkis to guide younger kumkis to use negative conditioning successfully, an elephant camp has also been suggested in Coimbatore with suitable sites that have water, food and shelter with possibilities of rotating elephants between Mudumalai and Anamalai Tiger Reserves.
Desai has also further suggested securing the Kallar corridor by constructing a flyover to create free passage for elephants and also secure the Bhavanisagar backwater area that provides grass during the dry season. In order to allow free movement for elephants along the foothills, he has asked the removal of illegal encroachments of reserve forests, unregulated or illegal construction along the boundaries of forests in violation of various legislations including HACA regulations. Stating that 'Brick Kilns' were a major reason for elephant intrusion into human habitation, Desai’s report claims that as soil was extracted and the land made into fallow lands, grass started to grow attracting elephants into a mosaic of fallow and agricultural areas resulting in increased crop raiding opportunities and deeper penetration of elephants into agricultural areas. The use of Palmyra piths is also cited as a reason for elephant intrusion. Desai has further suggested the safeguarding of tribal lands inside the forest from illegal acquiring, securing water streams and strengthening the forest department in appointing new staff to tackle Human-Wildlife Conflict.