Odisha Govt Remains Apathetic as Safety of Elephants in Peril, Numbers Continue to Fall

Bhubaneswar: The safety of the national animal in Odisha, the land of Gajapati (elephants), is in peril as the state government is yet to notify 14 elephant corridors, identified way back in 2010. Meanwhile, the number of elephants in the state has been reduced to just 1,976 from 2,044 in 1976.

The state has turned into a graveyard for elephants with their homes getting encroached for mining, farming, industries and urbanisation, and their traditional paths getting cut off by irrigation canals, railway lines and mines. All these have also led to an escalation in the human-elephant conflicts in the state. NewsClick had earlier reported a story on how fodder shortages were driving herds to the villages, leading to a new high in such conflicts.

Once the corridors are notified, a crucial requirement for elephant survival, they would be recognised as ecologically sensitive zones under the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1986. The delay in notification is adversely affecting the population of pachyderms in the state, said Wildlife Society of Odisha (WSO) Secretary Biswajit Mohanty.

Significant change in Elephant habitat

Keonjhar district which had 112 elephants in 2002 now has only 40, after losing them to large scale mining while Dhenkanal district which had 81 elephants in 2002 now has 169. They are trapped as they are unable to use traditional migration routes cut off by Rengali irrigation canals and illegal stone quarries.

Also read: Human-Elephant Conflict Escalates to a New High in Odisha as Fodder Shortage Drives Herds Into Villages

The 60 odd elephants in the Chandaka sanctuary, which were disturbed by development activities and lack of fodder as well as cut off by expansion of Bhubaneswar city, have now virtually abandoned the sanctuary and migrated to Ganjam and Cuttack districts. A group of 15 to 16 elephants from Chandaka which stayed put in the Ganjam’s Rambha forest range for about 4 to 5 years have been completely wiped out falling prey to electrocutions, road and train accidents. Another group of about 25 Chandaka elephants, of which only 20 are now remaining, are trapped in small patches of forests and come into frequent conflict with farmers in Khuntuni area.

Traditional elephant migration corridors destroyed

Fourteen elephant corridors were officially identified by the Odisha government in January 2010 covering over 870 sq km, with the length being 420.8 km and included three inter-state corridors with West Bengal, Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand. A total of Rs 20 crore has been spent over 5 years to develop these corridors. However, they are not yet notified under the Environment (Protection) Act 1986 even after nine years as Ecologically Sensitive Zones (ESZ) thereby exposing them to future diversion for mining, industries, canal, railway, dams or road development. Fortunately, three years back, the Wildlife Society of Odisha (WSO) obtained a stay order from the National Green Tribunal (NGT) that prohibits diversion of proposed corridors.

Mining lobby prevents notification of Elephant Reserve :

Odisha had identified five Elephant Reserves of which only three - the Mahanadi Reserve (8,036 sq. kms ), the Mayurbhanj Reserve ( 7,043 sq. kms ) and the Sambalpur Reserve ( 5,846 sq.kms) were notified. South Odisha Reserve ( 4,216 sq.kms ) and the Baitarani Reserve ( 10,516 sq.kms) have not been notified after the powerful mining lobby pressurised the forest department to withdraw its proposal which was already sent to Government of India in 2007. Now, rampant mining is allegedly going on in the Baitarani ER leading to huge rise in human-elephant conflicts.

Unsafe elephants face multiple dangers

Once the pride of Odisha, the elephants of the state now live a life fraught with a multitude of dangers due to poaching, poisoning, electrocutions, train kills and being chased by forest squads. The Supreme Court has banned chasing elephants but this order is usually ignored. Though Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Assam have much larger populations, the elephant mortality is highest in Odisha. About 1,497 elephant deaths have been recorded in the state since 1990 till 2019. It is shocking that 718 elephant deaths have been recorded in the last nine years and five months alone. The average death per year which was 33 per year from 1990 to 2000 became 46 per year from year 2000 to 2010 and has now become 77 per year since 2010.

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Out of the 718 deaths, 103 were killed by poachers for ivory, 67 were killed by poachers by laying live electric wires, 45 were killed due to negligence by Discoms leading to sagging electric supply lines and poorly fixed poles, 26 were killed by trains, 2 were killed on roads by speeding vehicles and 11 were killed in man-made structures like open wells and canals. Besides that, 329 died due to diseases, accidental falls, infighting, old age etc. and in 146 cases, the reasons could not be ascertained.

The tragic death of 7 elephants by electrocution due to low hanging 11 KV electric wires at Dhenkanal last year was the largest such incident in India, which had shocked the country. Every year, many are killed by electrified wire traps laid for wild boars in Dhenkanal and Angul districts.

Out of the 146 cases for which reasons could not be found, in 3/4th of the cases, the bodies were found after several months. They were totally decomposed except for the bones, pointing at poor patrolling by the forest department.

Unsustainable population due to dwindling numbers of male elephants

In the last census of 2017, there were 344 males elephants out of a total of 1,976, but only a few of them are adult breeding elephants which are needed for a healthy sustainable population. Large breeding males above the age of 20 to 25 could be as less as 80 to 100. In the last seven years, over 100 adult breeding male elephants have died, poached or killed by electrocution and train accidents. Each year, on an average, 18 to 20 such adult breeding elephants are killed.

While, mating by immature males will lead to birth of more and more unhealthy calves resulting in higher mortality. The health and sustainability of the elephant population in Odisha has become a matter of deep concern for conservationists.

Need for monitoring and accountability

There is virtually a collapse in the protection and conservation of elephants in Odisha with the government doing little or nothing to conserve and protect the elephant population.

"Unless there is regular monitoring and fixing of accountability at the highest level, they will continue to perish," Mohanty said adding, "so far requests by WSO since last three years for monthly reviews by the Minister have gone unheard."