Leg up for India’s pride of jumbos

CHENNAI: One of the forest’s most magnificent creatures, the Asian elephants occupy a pride of place in India. Unfortunately, they are endangered animals, whose numbers are whittling down drastically due to loss of biodiversity, climate change, and human activity. In the backdrop of World Elephant Day that was observed recently, it is pertinent to analyse the state of affairs of India’s jumbos, the threats faced by them and measures needed to ensure they do not end up as relics of our natural history.

As per figures provided by the Union Environment Ministry, as many as 1,160 pachyderms were killed in India by unnatural causes from 2009-10 to Dec 2020. Electrocution was the single biggest culprit with 741 jumbos succumbing to it, followed by 186 deaths due to train hits, 169 due to poaching, and 64 due to poisoning. India is home to about 29,964 wild elephants, i.e. 60% of all Asian elephants, whose numbers are estimated to be around 40,000. South India has the largest numbers of these animals – 14,612, out of which Tamil Nadu has 2,761, Kerala has 5,706 and Karnataka has 6,049.

Due to lax enforcement of rules, individuals involved in electrocution-related elephant deaths are never arrested or prosecuted, at least in 75% cases. However, things are changing for the better, as the Centre and States are taking steps to mitigate man animal conflict and protect jumbo populations. The Environment Ministry released a sum of Rs 212.5 crore to 22 states over a ten year period, under Project Elephant. The number of elephant reserves has surged in the last eight years and as many as 32 reserves have been set up in 14 major elephant States.

The latest in this list is the Agasthyamalai reserve in Tirunelveli which was declared as the 32nd elephant reserve in India, and the fifth in Tamil Nadu. The Periyar-Agasthyamalai region is pegged to have about 1,800 Asian elephants, as per Census 2010. The State already had four reserves including Annamalai, Srivilliputhur, Nilgiris and Nilambur, which were notified 20 years ago. Over the past three years, a total area of 76,508 sq km across 14 states had been brought under elephant reserves. The addition of Agasthyamalai, adds yet another 1,197 sq km of protected area under elephant reserves. The addition is being viewed as a boost for implementing guidelines of the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972 more stringently and the transfer of funds from the Centre to TN under Project Elephant, which comes to an annual sum of Rs 1 cr.

Recently, the TN Forest Department said that it will employ AI-based surveillance to prevent elephant deaths from train accidents. A survey by the forest and railway departments has identified a stretch of tracks between Madukkarai and Walayar in Coimbatore district where elephants are most vulnerable. A sum of Rs 7 crore has been sanctioned for the project. As many as eight wild elephants were killed in train accidents between Kanjikode and Madukkarai in the last five years. A sound and light based alert system installed at sensor towers will intimate forest watchers and station masters, if a pachyderm breaches a certain designated colour coded zone. Appropriate action can then be taken by intimating the loco pilot, the concerned district forest officials and railway engineers.

Earlier this year, the Environment Ministry had also constituted a Permanent Coordination Committee to prevent elephant deaths on tracks. The panel has outlined measures including permanent and temporary speed limits in designated jumbo corridors, the setting up of fences, warning signs, sensitising railway staffers, clearing foliage along the tracks and better coordination and liasoning between railway and forest officials.