DON'T SHIFT THE CONFLICT

Translocating elephants from their home range does not end the human-animal conflict, but intensifies it

- GANA KEDLAYA

IN FEBRUARY, officials from the Dharmapuri forest division in Tamil Nadu captured a 145-year-old elephant and translocated it to the Anamalai Tiger Reserve. The tuskless male elephant was blamed for causing extensive damage to crops in the surrounding villages. However, it soon started marching towards its home range, covering some 100 km in just two days. The forest officials then tranquilised and captured the elephant again. They radio collared the elephant and decided to release it in a nearby forest. But wherever they took it, local communities opposed its release. Finally, after travelling 200 km in a truck over an agonising 24 hours, the animal was released deep inside a a reserved forest in Manombally-Varakaliyar. It was last seen on February 24, drinking water in its new territory.

In geographies where elephants are found, translocation is being increasingly employed as a tool to mitigate conflicts between humans and the animal. With mobile phones and CCTV cameras, it has become easier for people to capture visuals of elephants in farmlands or frequenting the vicinity of human settlements. And when conflicts arise, such images of elephants are shared, and their removal is demanded. "The only solution locals seek is removing the animal from the area. Often, males are captured and matriarchs are radio-collared," says a Karnataka forest department official.