Southern States - Karnataka   

Foresters battle to drive pachyderms back into wild

By Our Staff Reporter

BANGALORE Dec. 16. Every winter when elephant herds move along the "corridor" connecting the forests of Bannerghatta with those in other States, man and animal come into conflict.

This year has been no better. For the past 15 days, teams of forest officials and local people have been trying to drive back 59 elephants moving in three herds numbering 25, 18, and 16. Areas like Bannerghatta, Sakhalvara, Buthanahalli, Ragihalli, Mantapa, Kaleshwari, Muninagara, Tharalu, and Sithalvadi have been badly affected.

"In fact, the elephants nearly reached Bangalore City limits," the BNP Deputy Conservator of Forests (DCF), B.M.T. Rajeev, told The Hindu.

"Elephants migrate this season. The BNP is part of a forest chain linking Thali reserve forests (Tamil Nadu), Bilikal reserve forests, Cauvery wildlife sanctuary, and others. But once they reach Bannerghatta, they find there are no forests outside BNP," he said.

Besides, at this time, elephants ate 20 per cent more food. "They need more energy to combat the cold. Naturally, the harvested crops in the villages outside Bannerghatta attract them," Mr. Rajeev said.

And therein is the irony. Mr. Rajeev said that the Forest Department had plugged almost all the "weak points" in the BNP boundary to prevent elephants from breaking out. "But the villagers themselves weaken the fence so that their cattle can graze inside the park. The elephants use these `holes' to get outside."

Now, the angry villagers were themselves trying to scare the elephants away by bursting crackers. This disturbed the elephants and made the foresters' work more difficult. "Also, we found a placenta in the path of the 25-member herd. Now, their progress will be much slower as there is a young calf involved," Mr. Rajeev said. Last year, the same thing happened. Herds had gone to Girinagar and Kengeri areas, he said.

Educating villagers was the answer, he said. "We have to talk to them. People must realise that it is not the fault of elephants. We have to live with the wildlife," Mr. Rajeev said.

Every year, the Forest Department paid between Rs. 12 lakh and Rs. 15 lakh as compensation for animal-related accidents, deaths, and crop loss. "Actually, this year people are protesting less," he said. For now, teams headed by the Range Forest Officer, S.Nagesh, and the forest officers, Dayanand Kumar, and Ramalinge Gowda, are trying to drive back the elephants.

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