Christian Cotroneo, The National
June 22. 2008
About 25,000 elephants share India’s 3.1 million sq km with more than one billion people. Grapheast / Dhritiman Mukherjee
NEW DELHI // As India reshapes its landscape on the way to becoming an industrial and urban giant, conservationists are warning of an increase in deadly clashes between humans and elephants.
While the government claims the elephant population has enjoyed a modest increase in recent years, development is robbing the herds of their natural habitat.
"I think that human-animal conflict, generally, is going to be the biggest challenge of the next 10 years," said Belinda Wright, the founder the Wildlife Protection Society of India.
The battleground for the elephants' survival is the enormous tracts of land they rely on for their food supply.
Marshalling its vast resources, India is charging into the 21st century. Swathes of forests are being converted for residential or agricultural use; train tracks and roads are linking previously isolated villages - putting man and beast at odds.
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