The recent attempt to unsuccessfully translocate and rehabilitate a “problem elephant,” as described by the State forest department, has highlighted the need for better cooperation between the states of Tamil Nadu, Kerala, and Karnataka when releasing elephants in the tri-junction area of the Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve (NBR).
The elephant in question, Pandalur Makhna-2 (PM2), had briefly made a foray away from the Mudumalai Tiger Reserve (MTR) and into neighboring Wayanad when political pressure forced the Kerala forest department’s hand in capturing the animal.
Pressure mounted on the forest department after the elephant was captured on CCTV camera pushing down a man in Sulthan Bathery in Wayanad. Soon afterwards, orders were passed to capture the elephant and turn it into a captive elephant, which many conservationists feel was “unjustified.”
PM2 was released in MTR, which is flanked on two sides by the Bandipur Tiger Reserve (BTR) in Karnataka and Muthanga Wildlife Sanctuary in Kerala and the Sathyamangalam Tiger Reserve (STR), Nilgiris and Gudalur forest divisions on the other.
A conservationist working in the landscape, said releasing elephants in this area was particularly tricky due to the jurisdictions of local forest departments in the three states.
“If an elephant captured in Tamil Nadu is released here, forest departments of Karnataka and Kerala will actively chase away the elephant from their ranges, limiting the availability of its habitat. Moreover, if the elephant enters the neighboring state, pressure mounts from political parties to capture the animal, which is what has happened with PM2,” added the conservationist.
N. Mohanraj, a Nilgiris-based conservationist who has assisted the Tamil Nadu forest department in keeping tabs on translocated elephants in the past stated that a joint committee could be formed involving forest department officials and experts from all three states that can be consulted when an elephant is relocated to the landscape.
“This will ensure that all three forest departments can share information on behavioral patterns of the animal in question, and can come up with strategies to mitigate negative interactions between newly translocated tuskers and local residents,” he said.
In the recent past, the forest department has had mixed results in relocating elephants into the MTR. In 2020, a tusker released into Sathyamangalam after being captured in Hosur died after suffering a fall while acclimatizing to his new habitat in MTR.
Elephants released in MTR have also been captured by the forest department in Karnataka, while there have also been a few success stories like that of Vinayaga, an elephant captured in Coimbatore, which has not had any serious negative interactions with people since its release.
Tarsh Thekaekara, the founder of the Shola Trust, said that translocations need to be undertaken right at the start when a particular elephant starts having negative interactions with people.
“PM2 had negative interactions for over three years prior to his capture - mainly breaking kitchens and eating rice stocks - and had become highly habituated to people. Unlike elephants in the wild, which spend 14-18 hours a day foraging for various foods, getting micro and macronutrients, and exercise, these crop raiders get their macro nutrients in a few hours but miss out on micronutrients and exercise. This is not good for the elephants or local people,” said Dr. Thekaekara, adding that it becomes very difficult for such animals to alter behaviour unless forced to do so by continuous monitoring and being driven away from human habitations.
“Translocating young dispersing males to a completely different landscape before they get too habituated can be one tool to prevent such extensive damage by individual elephants,” he said, suggesting that elephants captured in the Nilgiri biosphere region could possibly be relocated to habitats south of the Palghat gap, where the male-female sex ratio is more skewed towards a higher proportion of females, leading to less competition between males.
A relook at how elephants are translocated may also help to increase the chances of a successful translocation operation, said Mr. Mohanraj, who said that the forest department should consider building large holding pens for elephants prior to being released.
“When an elephant is captured, it’s in a highly stressed state. The animal should be held in a pen in the habitat where it’s being released so that it calms down prior to being released. This will also help build trust towards humans and may negate aggression towards humans once released,” he added.
