Jumbo task at hand Premium

The thriving Asian elephant population in the State forest ranges poses a challenge to the government to come up with effective solutions to avoid human-wildlife conflict

Over 20 wild elephants died due to electrocution in the Kaundinya belt in the last decade. The jumbo attacks have also caused over two dozen human casualties. | Photo Credit: File Photo

Only four days ago, four elephants of a herd of 18 dwelling in the forest near Katragadda village of Bhamini mandal in Parvatipuram-Manyam district were electrocuted while moving in search of food and water.

Meanwhile, six days ago, two human lives were lost as wild elephants trampled them to death in two separate incidents, drawing attention to the severity of this human-wildlife conflict.

The pachyderm problem in the State started in the late 1970s, the reappearance of the Asian elephants, after a hiatus of two centuries, at the tri-state junction of Kuppam in the Chittoor district came as a big surprise to the locals and the Forest Department.

Season after season, the number of migratory jumbos coming from the Western Ghats spread over Karnataka, Kerala, and Tamil Nadu kept rising.

A small herd of elephants from the Kuppam division had crossed into the Seshachalam biosphere in the mid-1980s, never to make a return.

For those pachyderms which became residents of the forests between Bangarupalem and Kuppam mandals in the Chittoor district, the government of Andhra Pradesh created the Kaundinya Elephant Project, a sanctuary, in 1990.

Brewing human-wildlife conflict

At present, the combined population of wild elephants, both residents and migrants, in the Kaundinya sanctuary and the Seshachalam ranges of the Annamayya and Tirupati districts is estimated to be around 200.

While the issue of human-wildlife conflict is minimal or nil in the Seshachalam ranges, it has become a cause of worry in the Kaundinya belt in the last decade, claiming the lives of over twenty wild elephants due to electrocution. The jumbo attacks have also caused over two dozen human casualties.

Migrants from Western Ghats

Senior forest officials observe that the pressure of the teeming jumbo population in the Western Ghats has resulted in their migrating towards Kuppam, crisscrossing the forests of Tamil Nadu and Karnataka.

Several herds have also started moving towards agriculture fields. Many unfortunate jumbos were electrocuted after getting entangled with live power cables dangling low across the fields and power transformers at ground level.

Worst, there are incidents of jumbos being killed after getting caught in electrical snares kept by poachers to hunt wild boars or antelopes.

Pachyderm electrocution

The tragic deaths were limited to the Kuppam division till the year 2000. But, in the last decade, the wild elephants from Tamil Nadu have started expanding their jaunts into the poorly-forested areas of Punganur, Ramasamudram, Madanapalle, Sadum, and Puthalapattu, and sparse jungles abutting Nagari plains.

In the early months of 2021, a three-member herd from Tamil Nadu crossed into Chittoor Municipal Corporation limits and kept moving towards the east. Ravaging fields en route is the “Bachelor’s Group” (in forest parlance) that travelled for over 120 kilometres to reach as far as Nagari and Pitchatur, located along the two national highways towards Chennai.

Many unfortunate jumbos were electrocuted after getting entangled with live power cables dangling low across the fields and power transformers at ground level. | Photo Credit: File Photo

The Forest Department’s efforts to drive them back or divert towards nearby Tirumala hills had failed. After three months, one of the elephants was electrocuted near Kailasa Kona waterfalls, 20 km from Puttur. Later, the remaining duo retreated into Tamil Nadu forests. The farmers deplore that they had repeatedly warned the Forest and Power Department staff about low-lying power cables and ground-level transformers but in vain.

In October 2019, two giant wild elephants from Tamil Nadu strayed into Irala beat near Chittoor. While raiding the crops, they were electrocuted at a mango garden, believed to be caught in a snare kept for wild boars. The field owners had deployed an earthmover and clandestinely buried the giant jumbos. After a fortnight, the secret but carelessly performed burial came to light when the pungent odour from the decomposed bodies lured some stray dogs.

Wrath of mother elephant

In July 2019, a baby elephant was electrocuted beneath a power pole at Gobbillakotur village near Palamaner. The next day night, its mother was back at the scene to avenge the death of her baby. As expected by the forest officials, the angry mother-jumbo uprooted the lifeless pole, as the Andhra Pradesh Southern Power Distribution Company Limited (APSPDCL) field staff had stopped the power supply.

Agriculture wells at ground level also prove fatal to wild elephants. In recent years, two elephant calves were rescued from the watery pits, and one of them died while under veterinary care.

At Chinnagottigallu in the present Tirupati district, a heavily built female jumbo was killed after it fell into a 70-foot deep well in July 2011. After lifting the body, the sight of a full-grown fetus in its womb during postmortem brought tears to the eyes of forest officials and veterinary staff.

Remedial measures

The APSPDCL has now decided to go green to prevent Jumbo electrocutions. Responding to the crisis, B. Hari, Executive Engineer (Chittoor rural division) of APSPDCL, says that in the last two years, the height of over 140 electrical poles in the fields abutting Kaundinya sanctuary was increased to more than 10 meters. “We have proposals to erect transformers at an elevated height attached to the poles instead of keeping them at ground-level,” the official says.

Mr. Hari says, “Another important decision is to paint all the poles and transformers green. It will commence soon in cooperation with the Forest Department. The forest officials informed us that the elephants go into a rage if they come across objects in white and black colours.”

Forest Range Officer (Palamaner) Nayeem Ali says that steps were initiated to increase the height of power poles and transformers at all the forest fringe villages of the Kaundinya zone.

“The farmers are informed about laying the III-phase cables underground. Importantly, the power along the high-tension lines would be stopped along the path of wild herds whenever their movement gets detected. Those who arrange electrical snares in the forests and fields would be booked,” he says.

Elephantine problem

The combined population of wild elephants in the Kaundinya sanctuary and the Seshachalam ranges of the Annamayya and Tirupati districts is estimated to be around 200.

Steps initiated to increase the height of power poles and transformers at all the forest fringe villages of the Kaundinya zone.

Farmers belonging to villages near the Kaundinya zone told to lay the III-phase cables underground to prevent elephant electrocution.

Four elephants out of a her of 18 elephants were recently electrocuted near Katragadda village of Bhamini mandal while searching for food and water.

An adult elephant needs around 150 kg of food and 98 liters of water per day.

Wild elephant population in the Annamayya and Tirupati districts in Rayalaseema and Parvatipuram Manyam district in North Andhra began to pose a threat to the human habitations in the region

Jumbos in Parvathipuram

Not only in the Chittoor range, but the tuskers have also been facing issues even in Parvathipuram – Manyam district.

The human-wildlife conflict has become the order of the day in the Parvathipuram district, with the inordinate delay in creating an elephant zone and implementing other measures essential to protect the wild-life animals.

In the absence of elephant corridors and specific measures to take care of tuskers, the elephants have been moving into habitations of many areas like Gummalakshmipuram, Kurupam, Jiyyammavalasa and Palakonda and other constituencies.

The locals are also facing many hurdles with the attacks from wild animals causing damage to their crops such as sugarcane, paddy and others.

In search of food and water

Recently, four of a herd of 18 elephants were electrocuted near Katragadda village of Bhamini mandal while moving in search of food and water.

Each animal needs around 150 kgs of food and 98 litres of water daily. In search of water and food, they have been roaming and facing threats such as electrocution by accidentally touching the transformers.

In fact, the elephant trackers should take necessary steps to prevent the tuskers from any danger. In many cases, the trackers are not moving along with the elephants, thanks to delay in payment of wages.

The government, which pays around ₹8,000 per tracker, has recently cleared their wage dues.

The villagers are also unhappy with the delay in payment of compensation for the crops damaged by elephants, thanks to the lack of coordination between forest and revenue officials in the assessment of the damage.

Need for a concrete plan

K.V. Ramanamurthy, chief executive officer of Green Mercy, a voluntary organisation working on animal safety, urges the government to devise a concrete proposal to resolve the elephant issue permanently.

“The government should study various plans being effectively implemented in countries like Thailand. Microchip implants are inserted under the thick hides of elephants in Thailand for their effective tracking. Water turfs can also be created in forest areas so that the elephants would not enter habitations frequently,” said Dr. Ramanamurthy, who has done a detailed study on elephants in the Srikakulam-Parvatipuram districts.

Parvathipuram Forest Officer G.A.P. Prasuna says that the Department would send a proposal to the State government to create an elephant zone in association with neighbouring Odisha and the Central government.

According to her, the Department recently planned to set up an enclosure on 500 hectares of land near Attam and Chandalangi villages of the Parvatipuram-Manyam district. It was proposed with an estimation of ₹40 crore so that the elephants could get water and food in the protected area.

Elephant zone mooted

Given the recent electrocution of four elephants, an exclusive elephant zone proposal was mooted as the elephants’ population is likely to go up in the near future.

Currently, such zones are there in Thirunelli-Kudrakote of Kerala, Edayarhalli-Doddasampige of Karnataka, Kaniyanpura-Moyar corridor of Karnataka, Siju-Rewak in Meghalaya, Chilla-Motichur of Uttarakhand and other places.

“Elephant zones spread over large areas compared to enclosures. So, we are planning to take the support of wildlife experts and organisations for the implementation of the proposal. The Union government’s support is also needed to protect the animals,” she added.