With all the seven forest ranges having received moderate to high rainfall, incidents of wild elephants entering villages for water and fodder are expected to decrease, according to the Forest Department.
Officials said that the summer showers had recharged ponds and streams in forests. A wide variety of plants and grasses palatable to elephants and other herbivores have also regrown after the rain.
The increase in the flows in the Bhavani, following rain in the Nilgiris and Kerala, had eased the water requirement of animals in the Karamadai, Mettupalayam and Sirumugai forest ranges.
The water level in the Pilloor reservoir upstream of the Bhavani, which falls under the Karamadai range, stood at 94.5 feet as against the full reservoir level (FRL) of 100, on Wednesday. The water level was 55 feet on April 30.
Meanwhile, there was no significant increase in the water level in the Bhavanisagar reservoir downstream, as it stood at 46.15 feet as against the FRL of 105 feet. The Bhavanisagar reservoir is a major source of water in the Sirumugai range.
Sirumugai Forest Range Officer K. Manoj said that the flow of river water into the dam was slowly picking up following the rain. “Waterholes in the Sirumugai range have been recharged, and grasses have started to grow again. Migration of elephants through places outside the forests will reduce following the rain,” he said.
The Periyanaickenpalayam, Coimbatore and Madukkarai forest ranges had been witnessing increasing instances of negative interaction between humans and elephants. A total of 9,028 instances of elephants entering human habitations were reported in the division between 2021 and 2023. From 2011 to 2022, the division reported 147 human deaths due to elephant attacks and 176 elephant deaths due to various reasons. On an average, 12 human deaths and 13 elephant deaths occur in the division each year.
The conflict had been intense in the Coimbatore range, which does not have natural waterbodies. For the same reason, 17 artificial waterholes or troughs are being cleaned and filled with water regularly. “Besides fuelling the growth of grasses and shrubs, the rain has also reduced the risk of a forest fire,” Forest Range Officer Thirumurugan said.
In the Madukkarai range, a few streams, on which elephants and other animals depend for water, have been recharged. Forest Range Officer R. Arun Kumar said that the trees that had withered during the peak of summer were now having fresh sprouts.
Periyanaickenpalayam Forest Range Officer M. Saravanan said that the rain had recharged major waterbodies in the range. “Instances of elephants coming out of the forest for water are expected to reduce,” he said. “However, crop damage may not reduce significantly, as farmers continue to cultivate crops that attract wild elephants on lands close to forest boundaries,” he added.
