ON THE MOVE: A herd of elephants in the Bandipur National Park. — PHOTO: M.A. SRIRAM

MYSORE: In a move that could ease pressure on elephants and other animals whose migratory paths have been fragmented and destroyed, the Forest Department proposes to acquire revenue land to widen the Kaniyanapura corridor.

A key migratory path connecting the western portion of the Bandipur National Park with the forests of Chamarajanagar, Satyamangalam and Dimbam, the Kaniyanapura corridor ensures continuity of elephant habitat and facilitates free migratory movement of pachyderms from Nagarahole and Bandipur to the eastern extremities of Nilgiris in Tamil Nadu.

The proposal is in its conceptual stage and may take two years for completion, according to Srinivasan, Field Director, Project Tiger, Bandipur.

This entails acquisition of revenue land near Yelechatti village in Bandipur to widen the Kaniyanapura corridor that is crucial for the annual migration of elephants.

Crucial

This is crucial as the forest in Bandipur, Mudumalai, Nagarahole and Wynad is contiguous and stretches across Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu and has a spread of nearly 12,000 sq km. Reckoned to be the last surviving patch of habitat where wildlife is viable, the entire range has nearly 12,000 elephants and other creatures, including tigers, leopards, dholes, and a healthy prey base to support them.

Mr. Srinivasan told The Hindu that elephant habitats have been fragmented and encroached upon by human settlements, and identifying large stretches of land devoid of human presence is crucial for conserving the Indian Elephant.

Kaniyanapura has been identified as a key elephant corridor by wildlife biologists and experts from the Asian Elephant Research and Conservation Centre (AERCC), Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore.

The corridor is narrow and hardly a few metres wide and is hemmed in by elephant proof trenches on one side adjoining private land and the steep Moyar gorge on the other. Widening the corridor will facilitate a free migration of elephants that will help in dispersing the genes as many herds come in contact.

This results in a healthy gene pool to ensure the long-term survival of the animals. In the absence of corridors and destruction of forests, elephant herds tend to get isolated and invariably results in inbreeding which that have devastating consequences in the long run.

The Forest Department is keen on acquiring revenue land to protect the existing natural corridors as man-animal conflict is on the rise on the fringes of Bandipur and Nagarahole as evident by the increase in the number of cases registered.

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