National
Electrocution, other factors lead to fall in Elephant numbers

Shillong, (PTI): The irony is inescapable. In a state that has 75 per cent of the land under forest cover, the giants of the jungle are under serious threat.

If the recent electrocution of 10 elephants within a span of one month is not enough to gauge the gravity of the problem, a look at the elephant population estimates of the state will make the picture more stark.

In the year 1993, there were around 2,872 wild elephants in the state but in 1997, the number came down to 1,840 which further slid down to 1868 in the year 2002, forest department sources said here Friday.

The number was estimated to be around 1600 in 2006, the sources said, adding the exact latest figure was still being compiled.

Besides natural death, electrocution, falling into traps, poaching and accidents like falling from cliffs accounted for the dwindling number, forest department sources said.

"There are vast inaccessible tracts through which high-tension wires pass. In some places, the electricity towers are close to ground while in some the wires are sagging or the poles not firmly rooted," Principal Chief Conservator of Forests, V K Nautiyal, said.

The forest department has been pursuing the matter with the State Electricity Board, but without much success.

What caused worry among the widlife circles was the electrocution of four wild elephants in Ri Bhoi district on November 20 last, one month after six pachyderms died similarly in the Garo Hills region.

The four elephants, which included three females and one male calf, were part of a herd from the reserve forests of neighbouring Assam, forest officials said.

Since January 2004, at least 16 elephants have died due to electrocution alone even as reports of man-elephant conflict continued to pour in from various corners of the state, especially the Garo Hills region having the highest concentration of the pachyderms in the state.

The land tenure system in the state has also made it difficult for authorities to adopt stringent conservation measures.

"We don't have well demarcated forest areas. Here, most of the forested land belong to the people or the district councils. The forest department has less than 1000 sq km under its control," Nautiyal said.

This, the Conservator said has made it difficult for the forest department to initiate measures for conservation of the wildlife. "Moreover, one can't do much in the inaccessible terrains of this hill state," he added.

The Conservator referred to the fact that the electrocution of the four elephants took place in a remote village Paham Umdoh which is not motorable. "One has to walk for about 2 hours to reach the place," the conservator said.

Concerned over the recent shocking incidents of electrocution, the forest department would pursue the matter vigorously with the electricity board, Nautiyal said.

In such a scenario, community mobilisation and creating awareness could be the only effective tool to protect the elephants and their habitats, wildlife lovers affirmed.

National

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