The heightening human-wildlife conflict at the Thadagam valley in Coimbatore district seems to be pushing elephants of the region to the adjacent Attappady in Kerala, which has witnessed large-scale destruction of traditional habitats of wild animals in the last three decades.
“The Thadagam valley and its fragile ecology have been much affected by numerous brick kilns that came up in the area. The kilns have drastically altered the landscape and interfered with the animal movement. The outskirts of Coimbatore had earlier served as elephant migratory corridors connecting the major forested regions of the Western and Eastern Ghats,” said K. Mohanraj, environmental activist.
Another concern in Attappady is the digging of numerous elephant-proof trenches in recent years by the Tamil Nadu Forest Department at Anaikatty.
13 elephants seperated from herds
Thirteen elephants were separated from their herds after trenches were dug in the elephant corridors in Tamil Nadu areas bordering eastern Attappady. These elephants, unable to re-enter forests, have been raiding crops in Thoova, Vattalakki, and Kulukkur villages in the Sholayur belt.
“They appear on the Mannarkkad-Coimbatore main road, disrupting vehicular movement. Road users, especially tourists who take the route to Ootty, via Mulli and Manjur, are often taken by surprise when they spot wild elephants on the road,” says K.A. Ramu, tribal activist. “The elephants are trapped in the region. Trenches were dug in the Anaikatty forest fringes on the Tamil Nadu side following a public outcry. The elephants were not herded back to the forest ahead of the digging of trenches,” says Naseer Usman, an ornithologist-turned-farmer in Ezhuthukalpara, near Sholayur.
The situation forces them to stray into farmlands and human habitations, causing human-animal conflict. Lack of fodder makes them crop-raiders.
