Beware, elephants, corridors on the wane!

Beware, elephants, corridors on the wane!

Newindpress.com

October 12, 2006

COIMBATORE: Why do butterflies- the fragile and fascinating beauties-follow an elephant?

The book by the title ‘Yaanaiyai Pinthodarum Vannathupoochi’, authored by K Kalidasan and V Ramakrishnan of Osai, an environmental organisation here, speaks about the dependence of butterflies and carnivores on elephants besides the latter’s invaluable role in our ecosystem and hence the urgent need to protect them.

According to the authors, copy of the book, released as part of the World Wildlife Week celebrations here on Wednesday, explains how the butterflies absorb minerals, required for their breeding, from elephant dung.

The message that the book intends to spread is more relevant these days when human-elephant conflicts are becoming a routine in hilly terrains of the district besides the deaths of elephants in freak mishaps, reported now and then, like, electrocution caused by the illegal electric fencing.

The latest death reported is that of an elephant which succumbed after it consumed fermented wash at an illicit brewing spot, located, presumably, on the Kerala side.

The authors are planning another book as a sequel to this, which will speak about the recent human-elephant conflicts.

The authors give a note of caution on the dwindling elephant corridors leading to the conflicts.”If we fail to check the rot things will get worse like in Assam,” they point out.

The government, which accords priority to sanctuaries and national parks, should recognise the importance of elephant corridors. This, the government seems to have started thinking at the policy level.

As corridors are very important the Tamil Nadu Government has worked out a strategy to purchase the same from private parties. Moreover, the need for a body with more teeth than the Hill Area Conservation Authority (HACA), headed by the district collectors, is felt.

As of now, there is pressure on the officials to accord permission for carrying out construction activities in the elephant corridors as in places like Anaikatti in the district. According to the environmentalists, if the buildings come up, it will not only prevent elephant movement, but the water, available there, will be sucked up due to the use of borewells.

The elephants require more than 500 kms of home range wherein they will hunt for the food they require. They consume 250 kg of food and 150 litres of water a day for which the elephant herds migrate from one forest to another (corridors).

If these corridors are blocked, the elephants will have no other means but to enter human habitations.

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