Assam mulls roadmap to curb conflict with elephants

GUWAHATI: Confronted with the growing incidence of human-elephant conflict in the state and constrained by manpower crunch, the Assam forest department will soon constitute public coordination groups in a joint effort to create a roadmap to mitigate the problem in the affected areas.

“To start with, five groups will be formed at Nonaikhuti, Rajagarh, Paneri, Santipur and Udalguri for better coordination between villagers and the forest department,” MK Sarma, divisional forest officer of Dhansiri forest division, Udalguri, told The Shillong Times on Tuesday.

Three persons have been trampled to death and one injured in the past two months in Udalguri district under Bodoland Territorial Council even as encroachment by humans and subsequent loss of habitat and corridor blocks have compounded the problem.

“A district-level coordination committee meeting will be held this week where the gaon burahs (village headmen) and people having knowledge on the ground realities would be invited to take part. Suggestions and opinions would be taken into account in order to find out what needs to be done and subsequently create a roadmap to mitigate this conflict,” Sarma said.

The conflict has taken a serious turn in Goalpara forest division as well where at least 50 migratory elephants from Garo Hills are present. A couple of days back, two persons were reportedly trampled to death by a solitary elephant.

Obstruction of pathways (corridors) has rendered wild elephants directionless thereby triggering the conflict in the state’s reserved forests.


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‘Miracle’ baby elephant born three months after due date is named

A “miracle” Asian elephant calf born three months after its due date has been named.

Anjan Hi Way made headlines and astonished keepers at Chester Zoo last month when he was delivered after 25 months in the womb.

Scientists thought that mum Thi Hi Way had begun a resorption process and lost the baby, as the gestation period for elephants is 22 months – the longest of any mammal.


But three months later than expected, she gave birth to the healthy male calf, in a boost to conservation efforts.

The calf was named after Anjan Nath, a leading conservationist in Assam, northern India, who works in partnership with Chester Zoo to combat threats to the mammals.

Born on May 17, Anjan Hi Way joins six siblings at the zoo.

The species faces threats to survival from habitat loss, ivory poachers and disease.

Asian elephants, which are native to south and south-east Asia, are listed as endangered by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature.


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In India, an elephant wins freedom from tourist rides and the illegal wildlife trade

It is a heartrending story, but with a happy ending for one elephant. Suman is born into captivity to Champa, one of dozens of elephants who are used to ferry tourists up and down the hills to Amer Fort, a popular spot in Jaipur, India. When Suman is still a calf, her overworked mother, to whom she is very close, falls severely ill and passes away.

Suman, stressed and agitated by her mother’s death, would have faced a life similar to her mother’s – as an elephant giving joy rides to tourists — if not for the relentless efforts of Humane Society International and our partner in India, People for Animals. Last week, in response to a court case filed by HSI/India and PFA challenging the legality of Suman’s ownership, a court ruled that the 10-year-old elephant should be handed over to the state wildlife department. Suman is now being moved to a state-run rescue facility and we hope she will be soon moved to a sanctuary where she can spend the rest of her life in peace and in the company of other elephants.

Elephants in India are a beleaguered species and they face many threats, including habitat loss due to environmental degradation, human-animal conflict, poaching and the illegal wildlife trade, in which Suman was caught up. Studies show that the number of Asian elephants has dropped by at least 50 percent over the last three generations.

It is estimated that 3,500 elephants in India now live in captivity. India’s Wildlife Protection Act, passed in 1972, makes it illegal to capture elephants for commercial purposes, but people who already “owned” elephants at the time the law was passed were allowed to keep them so long as they obtained an ownership certificate. Unfortunately, like Suman, most of the elephants now in captivity are being held illegally and without the required papers.


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