Coimbatore: With the nearby Gudalur Forest Division following a systematic elephant identification module, which helps them in mitigating Human-Elephant Conflict (HEC) better in the hill town, the Coimbatore Division is in full swing to implement the project, here.
Coimbatore: With the nearby Gudalur Forest Division following a systematic elephant identification module, which helps them in mitigating Human-Elephant Conflict (HEC) better in the hill town, the Coimbatore Division is in full swing to implement the project, here.
Forest officials with technical support from World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) started educating front-line forest staff about the project and staff from ranges including Sirumugai, Karamadi, Periyanaickenpalayam and Mettupalayam who were trained earlier.
On Friday, about 60 front line staff including Anti-Poaching Watchers, Rapid Response Team members, Forest Guards, Forest Watchers and Foresters from the Boluvampatti, Coimbatore and Madukkarai Forest Ranges were trained in identifying elephants. About 100 guard trainees from the Tamil Nadu Forest Academy where the event was held also participated.
D Boominathan, Landscape Coordinator of WWF, Coimbatore shared his insights on elephants. The participants were taught about elephant behaviour and biology. They were also told to take a close look at the ears, tusks (in case of male elephants), lumps on the body, external injuries and other significant marks in the body to differentiate one elephant from the other.
Boominathan also threw light on the movement of elephants in and around the Coimbatore Division, explaining the major elephant corridors in the region, including the Kallar corridor. D Venkatesh, the District Forest Officer of Coimbatore said that knowledge about individual elephants would help ascertain the population of the pachyderm at the division level, which was lacking thus far. "If done properly, the method would help devise effective mitigation strategies and control habitual crop raiding elephants," he added.
As a part of the program, field staff are to be provided with cameras to capture images of elephants. The team will also have to use camera traps if necessary. Such camera traps have already been placed in Madukkarai and Mettupalayam.
Forest officials with technical support from World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) started educating front-line forest staff about the project and staff from ranges including Sirumugai, Karamadi, Periyanaickenpalayam and Mettupalayam who were trained earlier.
On Friday, about 60 front line staff including Anti-Poaching Watchers, Rapid Response Team members, Forest Guards, Forest Watchers and Foresters from the Boluvampatti, Coimbatore and Madukkarai Forest Ranges were trained in identifying elephants. About 100 guard trainees from the Tamil Nadu Forest Academy where the event was held also participated.
D Boominathan, Landscape Coordinator of WWF, Coimbatore shared his insights on elephants. The participants were taught about elephant behaviour and biology. They were also told to take a close look at the ears, tusks (in case of male elephants), lumps on the body, external injuries and other significant marks in the body to differentiate one elephant from the other.
Boominathan also threw light on the movement of elephants in and around the Coimbatore Division, explaining the major elephant corridors in the region, including the Kallar corridor. D Venkatesh, the District Forest Officer of Coimbatore said that knowledge about individual elephants would help ascertain the population of the pachyderm at the division level, which was lacking thus far. "If done properly, the method would help devise effective mitigation strategies and control habitual crop raiding elephants," he added.
As a part of the program, field staff are to be provided with cameras to capture images of elephants. The team will also have to use camera traps if necessary. Such camera traps have already been placed in Madukkarai and Mettupalayam.