Elephas Maximus, Minimised

Assam has been blessed with an amazing range of wildlife and natural surroundings. past, the lush blue green had been supporting. But, as the human did the pressure on meant for wildlife. As man went deeper into the forests to settle, it implied less area for the animals to move about in their natural habitat. Furthermore, it caused disturbance in the life of the animals and particularly affected the elephants who occupied a large area of the forests. This led to man-animal conflict resulting in casualties on both sides.

THE ‘ELEPHANT VILLAGE’

To minimize the growing conflicts of villagers with starving wild elephants (which has triggered a spate of killings in recent times), the Assam government is setting up an elephant village inside Rani reserve forest in Kamrup district. The village will be commissioned within the next winter months. About 500 “jobless” tame elephants will be engaged in this village to control the wild elephants and to promote nature tourism. The idea is to create a sensibility among the local people about co-existing with the pachyderms in order to minimise the conflict.

The residents of at least 20 villages in and around Rani reserve forest have been bracing themselves to face the wrath of the pachyderms in winter months. Herds of elephants descend from the Rani Garbhanga reserve forest bordering Meghalaya, entering these villages under the cover of darkness. Once inside, each of the 100-150 member herd starts rampaging the paddy fields. The worst affected areas include several villages of Sonitpur district in Assam, where wild tuskers have killed 190 people during the last decade.

In most cases, the villagers used organo-phosphates (a kind of pesticide), to poison the wild elephants. Spraying of organo-phosphates in the water sources and on the elephants’ fodder causes their death. And this is done despite the district magistrate’s notification, prohibiting the possession and sale of such pesticides. “We can’t sleep at night. So far these elephants damaged mostly standing crops. But, we have to be careful in the winter to ensure that our crops are saved,” said the villagers of Rani.

Similar incidents are also occurring in Tripura, where villages located near the foothills of the Atharamura range are raided by wild elephants. With the depletion of forest cover and killing of the elephants, there are now just 40 of them in the state, down from 189 in 1999.

IVORY TRADE

Constant aggression from humans is compelling these wild animals of Tripura to flee to the neighbouring Chittagong Hills Tract district in Bangladesh where most of them are killed for their ivory. Intelligence officials reveal that wildlife smugglers are cashing in on the situation to make huge profits through the sale of ivory. Several villagers in Assam are also hand-in-glove with the smugglers. Besides Assam, states like Uttar Pradesh and Orissa are also among the most active production and collection centres.

Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata are cited as the retailing centers. Indian ivory is reportedly exported to around 40 nations the world over. In between 1996 and 2006, at least 270 kilograms of raw ivory was seized in India, which is indicative of a thriving domestic market.

PREVENTIVE MEASURES

The Assam government has initiated a series of measures to rectify the situation. For starters, it has identified six elephant reserves across the state where efforts would be made to improve the habitat. There is also a plan to install more electric fencing around the elephant reserves to give protection to them. The forest department has also formed anti-depredation squads in villages that are likely to be attacked by the wild elephants. The state government of Tripura soon plans to implement the Project Elephant in the Atharamura range to conserve the animal habitat.

In 2001, as many as 17 tuskers were killed by the frightened villagers of Sonitpur. The modus operandi adopted by villagers to drive away tuskers is very simple. They lay bamboo sticks on the paths of the wild elephants and use domesticated elephants to scare them away. Shotguns are also used. The operation starts in the evening and continues till 1am.

Wild elephants usually do not venture out of their habitats after midnight, thus saving paddy fields from being damaged.

The destruction of elephant habitat has led to the conflict between the villagers and starving wild elephants in Assam and the entire Northeast region. Over the past 12 years, marauding elephants have killed 605 people in Assam, while at least 121 wild tuskers have died of poisoning, electrocution and collision with speeding trains during the same period. The current situation is so grave that even tame elephants are straying into human settlements in search of food and to create terror.

This is attributed to the fact that at least 2,500 tame elephants used in the timber transportation trade are now jobless following a 1996 ban on timber felling by the Supreme Court of India. Less work renders the elephants more virile as they are unable to burn their energy. This phenomenon called ‘musth’, is dangerous, as animals in this condition tend to go berserk, killing people or rampaging across human settlements.

JUMBO DIET

Wild elephants survive on natural vegetation while tame elephants need to be regularly fed grain, undergo regular health check-ups and take medicines. These days, most of the owners cannot provide adequate food to their elephants. An average adult elephant requires about 200 kilograms of green fodder and about 150 litres of clean water daily. The loss of habitat due to the conversion of elephant paths into agricultural land means these animals do not have enough to feed themselves. Unable to feed the animals because of grinding poverty, many owners have begun selling them. Most elephant owners in Assam earlier would earn an average US $1125 a month. Now, the average income stands at US $250 annually.

DWINDLING NUMBERS

India is home to nearly half the estimated number of wild Asian elephants across the world. Out of 10,000 Asian elephants found in the country, the Northeastern region boasts half this number, with 50 percent living in Assam. Disturbingly, this population is dwindling in the region. According to the last elephant census in 1997, there were a total of 5,312 elephants in Assam, coming down from 5,524 in 1993. In other states of the Northeast, the situation is scarcely better, despite the fact that killing of elephants is a punishable offence under provision of the India Wildlife Protection Act.

Due to human aggression, elephants are more vulnerable in the Northeast than any other animal species. The situation has turned critical due to encroachment upon their habitat by humans, which forces these animals to enter urban areas to get killed. On the other hand, elephants are migratory in nature and like to change their diet once in a while. As a result, they frequently come into contact with humans. And under such circumstances, the undesirable is quite likely.

WHAT CAUSES THE CONFLICT?

Apart from the shrinking of the habitat area, due to large-scale deforestation, there is another major factor for elephants losing their natural habitat. And that is, the increasing demand for firewood throughout Assam. By next year, Assam’s annual firewood requirement would be about 5.8 million tons, as against the annual availability of 1.45 million tons. And this amounts to more felling of trees endangering wildlife inevitably. So far, around

70-odd wild animals were rescued after they strayed into Guwahati in search of food. However, the silver lining in this otherwise gloomy scenario is the fact that there are as many as seven wildlife sanctuaries located on the fringes of Guwahati. This serves as a ray of hope to animal conservation and will hopefully reduce the man-animal conflict.

RANI RESERVE FOREST

Stretched over 160 sq kms, the Rani forest takes its name from the Rani (queen) of Khasi hills Syemship, of neighbouring Meghalaya, who used to come to the present Rani village for a customary annual visit. It comprises of three reserve forests namely - the Rani, Jarasal, and the Kwasing Reserve Forests, which can literally be a gold mine for timber and wild life smugglers.

On many occasions numerous members of the unarmed forest staff have had to lose their lives in the hands of the fury of local villagers, while preventing the felling of trees. But, a couple of years ago, the staff took it as a challenge to rid the forests of anti-social elements and convert it into a favourite holiday haunt.

Today, their efforts have helped them a great deal. The forests are frequented by visitors and the Rani Forest range has contributed Rs 26 lakhs as revenue realized from the sale of seized timber. The forest range now attracts visitors for its unique hills, thick forests and wild animal species.

Of course it has attracted timber smugglers too. But the situation is more manageable now than it was a few years ago. The Rani headquarter is supported by eight beats -- the Chakardeo, Sajjanpara, Hatimaraghuli, Nalapara, Garopara, Sukurbari, Sessa and Sattargaon. These are manned by a team of 35 forest staff and a few personnel of the Assam Forest Protection Forces.

However, their strength is grossly inadequate under the present day circumstances. The forest guards should be equipped with sophisticated weapons and their number increased if protection is to be given to the forest and people. The Rani Forest is more sensitive as the area has a common boundary with Meghalaya in the south and for about 35 km in the east with the great Garbhanga Reserve Forest.

Apart from that, one major task is to convince the local people about the necessity of conserving the forests. People fail to realise that being natives, it is they who would lose the most if a tree is destroyed, as their environment will be aff ected. All that is needed now to maintain the pristine beauty of the region is to spread environmental awareness among the local people, in order to avail safer living for both human beings and animals.

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