The number of humans killed by wild elephants in conflict-prone zones located in the Nilgiris North Forest Division and the Gudalur Forest Divisions has come down by more than 66% so far this year.
According to forest department officials, the number of deaths came down from 15 in 2016 to five this year. The Gudalur forest division witnessed the highest fall — just three in 2017, while there were nine human deaths recorded last year.
Environmentalists said one of the primary reasons for the drop in conflicts between humans and elephants was due to better availability of water and fodder in the forests, eliminating the need for elephant herds to cross human settlements or to raid crops in times of crises like last year when most parts of the Nilgiris went dry due to poor rainfall.
S Kalanidhi, District Forest Officer, Nilgiris North Forest Division, agrees that better rains across the district led to fewer conflict situations overall, but added that measures instituted by the Forest department, like the restoration of the Sigurhalla river last year, also helped.
P K Dileep, District Forest Officer, Gudalur Forest Division, who oversees one of the forest belts where antagonistic interactions between humans and elephants is most acute, said scientific monitoring of elephant herds since the beginning of the year yielded tremendous benefits.
“A system which we had instituted this year, whereby elephants near human habitations are monitored on a 24x7 basis by forest staff under a centralised elephant monitoring system ensures that the public living near the fringes of forests and tea plantations are warned about the presence of animals near their villages,” Mr. Dileep said.
Compensation paid
The reduction in conflicts in the Gudalur, Mudumalai and the Sigur plateau also decreased the compensation paid to victims of conflict considerably since March of 2014. According to statistics from the Mudumalai Tiger Reserve (MTR) officials, a total of 53 cases of conflict, including deaths, injuries, crop damage, and property damage, were recorded in Mudumalai and surrounding areas between April 1, 2015 to March 31, 2016. In the period, ₹15.32 lakh in compensation was disbursed to claimants.
The number of incidents reduced substantively in 2016 and 2017, with 20 cases of conflict reported and compensation amounting to less than ₹3 lakh was disbursed, things improved even further since April this year. According to officials, there has only been one minor conflict over the last six months in the region.
Srinivas R Reddy, field director, Mudumalai Tiger Reserve, said a combination of factors, including better availability of fodder and water availability, combined with a vigilant public with better understanding of elephant movement led to the gradual easing of the conflict.
“The herds are much more dispersed in NBR, including in Wayanad and Bandipur, Nilgiris North Division and Gudalur, while people are much more respectful towards the animals. We need to wait and watch things as they proceed for another year to see if the conflict mitigation measures continue to be successful,” said Mr. Reddy.
