HEADCOUNT: A herd of elephants in the wild. Skewed male-female sex ratio in elephants is a cause for concern. — PHOTO: M.A. SRIRAM

MYSORE: It was time for the gentle giants to be counted and be accounted for in their natural habitats spread across Bandipur, Nagarahole, Biligirirangaswamy Temple (BRT) Wildlife Sanctuary and other places in the latest round of synchronised elephant census for Karnataka from May 7 to 9.

The results will be eagerly awaited as it will throw light on the status of the wild elephants in these parts of the State, where their number was on the decline over the years due to habitat destruction, increase in man-animal conflict, habitat degradation and poaching to name a few.

It is likely that the final population figures of elephants may not vary significantly from the 2003 and 2005 census figures, which indicated around 6,000 elephants for Karnataka of which Bandipur (1,900) Nagarahole (1,100), BRT and Cauvery sanctuaries (more than 500 each) accounted for almost 80 per cent of the total elephant population in the State.

What will be of significance is the male-female sex ratio which is plummeting and a major cause for concern. The 2002 census results indicated that the overall sex ratio in the State was estimated to be 1 male for every 3.7 females, which temporarily allayed fears that a paucity of adult males may endanger elephant populations. But Forest Divisions such as in Kollegal, Cauvery Sanctuary and Biligirirangaswamy Temple sanctuary had sex ratios of around 1:8 indicating that poaching of adult tuskers and rampant electrocution of elephants had dealt a crippling blow.

Scores of elephants have been electrocuted by farmers in recent months when the herds strayed from the jungles to the periphery and stepped into the agricultural fields most of which have illegal electric fences erected by the land owners.

The latest census results will also help authenticate the impact of the death of nearly 80 elephants that were reportedly killed or died under mysterious circumstances in Nagarahole between January 2000 to 31 October 2002 which was attributed to "territorial fights" by the Forest Department and the shocking developments came to light only in 2003.

However, wildlife experts refuted the Forest Department explanation attributing the elephant death to internecine fights as highly improbable as unlike carnivores like tigers and leopards, elephants are highly sociable animals and fight to death are rare.

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