Karnataka: Elephant census to take off early next year

Bengaluru: Horrifying images of a tusker shot dead in the Hunsur wildlife range of the Nagarhole National Park in Mysuru district, are difficult for wildlife and animal lovers to forget. Also the pictures of two adult tuskers shot dead and their tusks poached by an unidentified gang in the Male Mahadeshwara Hills Wildlife Sanctuary in Chamarajnagar district last year, along with images of elephants killed by electrocution across the state in the last four years, continue to haunt them. Many are wondering how many elephants still roam free across the state's last remaining forests.

An answer to that might be out soon, as the State Forest Department's elephant census is on schedule to be conducted early next year, in coordination with the neighboring states. An exercise carried out once every five years.

Keeping tabs on the elephants in the state is a ‘jumbo task’ as their habitat extends to about 11, 300 sq kilometres in 32 forest divisions of Karnataka (about 14 times larger than greater Bengaluru). Their habitat varies from wet evergreen forests through deciduous forests to dry thorn forests (Bhadra Wildlife Division in Malnad to Bandipur National Park in the south along the Western Ghats, and from BRT Wildlife sanctuary in Chamarajnagara district to Bannerghatta National Park along the Eastern Ghats). But with the continuous shrinking of forest cover, the man-elephant conflict is now on the rise.

As per the recommendations by the Project Elephant Directorate in the Ministry of Environment and Forests, Government of India, the state carries out an elephant census every five years to determine the population structure, which includes the age, sex and the sex ratio of wild elephants. The last census was conducted in the year 2012 after a planning-cum-training workshop for forest department officials of various ranks and designations at Bandipur National Park.

The census was carried out by the Karnataka Forest Department in co-ordination with neighboring states including Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra and Goa. The forest department, upon completion of the jumbo task, found that the state was home to 6072 elephants - the highest in the country in terms of elephant population.  

A forest official from the Bandipur National Park spoke to us about the upcoming elephant census, saying that like the previous census of elephants, the upcoming census too will be done in three different categories -  Sample Block Count, where elephants sighted directly in the census zone are divided into discrete counting blocks in addition to ‘Line transect dung count’ and water-hole observations. The official said that the census would be carried out late next year and the department estimates the elephant population to be around 1, 600 to 1, 800 in Bandipur National Park alone.

While all preparations are still in their preliminary stage, there seems to be an elephantine task ahead to conserve and protect the last remaining elephant population in the state. The state   is fast losing its forest cover along with its elephant population due to the increase in man-elephant conflict.

Online petition to stop illegal use of jumbos
An online petition by the Concerned Citizens For Elephant Welfare on www.thepetitionsite.com   addressed to the Karnataka Chief Minister and the Ministry of Environment and Forests in New Delhi, asking them to stop the illegal use of elephants for logging in India, has now gained about 13, 000 supporters. The petition refers to an incident in October 2015 where captive elephants were allegedly used to carry logs in timber depots in Chikkamagalur.