Andhra's man-animal conflict: Jumbos in jeopardy

The man-animal conflict in Chittoor district has grown drastically, with five elephants being electrocuted last year and one dying earlier this week

January 25, 2020 08:46 pm | Updated November 28, 2021 11:41 am IST - CHITTOOR

The Asian elephant made a dramatic reappearance in Kuppam on a wintry evening in the 1980s, after being off the map for many years.

The comeback of the jumbos led to both excitement and fear in hundreds of fringe villages of Kuppam and Palamaner forest ranges. While many looked forward to the establishment of a sanctuary for the pachyderms, some were worried about a threat to their way of life.

Kuppam, said to be a ‘tri-junction’ as it is flanked on either side by Karnataka and Tamil Nadu, soon saw a large influx of elephant herds from Hosur and Bannerghatta areas of the neighbouring States. Senior forest officials said that while one big herd moved into the Seshachalam biosphere, two smaller herds chose to stay put in Kuppam.

Casting away their migratory nature, the jumbos soon made the forests of Kuppam their natural habitat. This led to the setting up of the Koundinya Wildlife Sanctuary in the 1990s with only three elephant herds. Kuppam however has continued to see rogue herds from Bannerghatta and Hosur visiting the area and destroying the standing crop season to season.

 

Apart from regular crop damage in Kuppam, Ramakuppam, Gudupalle, Baireddipalle, V. Kota, Palamaner and Bangarupalem mandals for nearly two decades, the region has also seen an increase in man-animal conflict. According to estimates, around 42 people were killed by the wild elephants between 1990 and 2002, and around 12 elephants were electrocuted in fields in the same period.

With the gradual drying up of the Koundinya and Kaigal tributaries of the Palar river in the sanctuary zone, the wild herds started raiding crops in the abutting fields from 2000 onwards, a practice that continues till today. Many elephants were reportedly killed due to electrocution. Two elephant cubs rescued in the fields were rehabilitated at S.V. Zoo Park, but the efforts went in vain.

The year 2019 was a dark chapter in the history of wildlife conservation in Chittoor district, with five elephants getting electrocuted and one elephant dying of wounds after infighting. The man-animal conflict took a serious turn last year, when two giant male elephants were clandestinely buried in the fields by some tenant farmers after they were electrocuted. The episode came to light after a fortnight. All casualties took place within a radius of 15 km from the sanctuary.

On January 21 this year, a giant elephant was electrocuted in the fields near Chittoor. During the last three years (2016-2019), four human casualties were reported in the tri-State junction.

Last year, wild elephants from the Kuppam region began straying into fields as far away as 50 km in forest ranges of Madanapalle, Punganur, Chittoor and Piler, posing a major headache to farmers who suffered huge crop losses. Officials of the Forest Department spent sleepless nights attempting to drive the jumbos back into the forests. The department reportedly paid close to ₹35 lakh as compensation to farmers last year. The man-animal conflict has led to a fall in tjhe sowing of kharif crop by 40% in villages abutting the sanctuary.

Population growth

Forest Range Officer (Palamaner) K. Madan Mohan Reddy attributed the sudden increase in the number of herds arriving at Koundinya sanctuary and straying into fields of the neighboring ranges to stress factors in Hosur and Bannerghatta zones, including population growth of jumbos.

"When Koundinya was established in 1990, it had hardly half a dozen elephants. Now, we have about 50 wild elephants in our area, in addition to migratory pachyderms. They are straying far away into other ranges, which hitherto remained free from their presence. Though the sanctuary is spread over 40,000 hectares, the crop-raiding herds are active in over 1 lakh hectares, including forest fringes and fields," Mr. Reddy said.

 

The FRO observed that keeping in view this uncontrolled frenzy of marauding herds, the Forest Department struck upon the idea of establishing a ‘Royal Elephant Reserve’, which is expected to include Punganur, Madanapalle and Chittoor ranges. "The department’s efforts like arranging trenches and solar fencing and rock pillars in Kuppam region bore fruit to a large extent. Now, the entire jumbo population is concentrated in Palamaner and adjoining Chittoor range. The efforts to drive them back are getting harder by the day. If we try to initiate steps to prevent the jumbos from entering fields, they are advancing towards other ranges," he said.

Meanwhile, Palamaner MLA N. Venkate Gowda said that a proposal worth ₹9 crore to initiate a network for control of crop-raiding herds is under way.

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