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ABSTRACTState of Environment: Elephant Reserves

IntroductionElephant is a terrestrial animal

which is included in scheduled-I animallist of the Wildlife (Protection) Act 1972.It requires large space for its home andsurvival. This species is well known toall. During past history this animal waslargely used in War and traveling. Thereare innumerable sculptures on elephantsin temples and caves in India. In Hinduculture this animal is worshiped bypeople. Though it is large in size andsometimes wild but sometimes it is seenthat this animal is very friendly withhuman beings.

Project Elephant

From the Director's Desk...This newsletter depicts information about elephant reserves in the

state. This newsletter has been prepared on the basis of information collectedfrom various published reports of Forest & Environment Department andother publications.

Project Elephant was launched inFebruary 1992 by Govt. of India for

conservation of elephant and its habitat.It aims at addressing the threats to thesurvival of elephant in our country onaccount of loss of its habitat, migrationpath and poaching for tusks and issuesarising out of elephant depredation invillages. It also aims at maintaining anappropriate size of the population inany habitat to safeguard it againstextinction and maintaining geneticcontinuity of isolated populationswhich are otherwise susceptible toinbreeding.

Above all the project aims:

• To conserve and protect elephantpopulations and to ensure healthypopulation and viable within itsecosystem.

• To conserve and protect the habitat

Elephant is a terrestrial animal which is included in scheduled-I animal list of the wildlife(Protection) Act 1972. Project Elephant was launched in February 1992 by Govt. of Indiafor conservation of elephant and its habitat. There are 26 notified elephant reserves in Indiaout of which three namely Mayurbhanj ER, Mahanadi ER and Sambalpur ER are in Orissa.Besides these, two or more areas have been proposed for future elephant reserves in Orissa.The Census of elephants conducted during 2002 says the figure of an about 20696 in India.The figure of Orissa during that period was 1330 which increased to 1862 during 2007-08.Captive elephants are now maintained only in some of the camps under State WildlifeOrganisation. As per the report of Wildlife Trust of India and the Asian Elephant Researchand conservation centre a total of 88 elephant corridors were identified being currently in usein the country. Activities like hunting of elephants for tusks, diversion of forest lands mainlyfor mining of forest lands, encroachment and shifting cultivation result in degradation ofelephant habitat. To manage these problems various steps are being taken by the state.

Keywords: Elephant Reserves, Project Elephant, Elephant Corridors, Conservation,Captive Elephants

I sincerely thank to the ENVIS team for their efforts and the concerned departmentsin providing information for preparation of this Newsletter.

Shri Bhagirathi Behera, IFSDirector, Env.-cum-Spl. Secy. & Director

Centre for Environmental StudiesForest & Env. Dept., Govt. of Orissa

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Elephant Reserves in OrissaThere are three notified Elephant Reserves functioning in Orissa namely the

Mayurbhanj ER, Mahanadi ER and Sambalpur ER. The Mayurbhanj ER was notifiedas ER on 29.09.2001, Mahanadi ER on 20.7.2002 and Sambalpur ER on 27.03.2002.

Besides this, two more Elephant Reserves namely Baitarani ER and SouthOrissa ER are on the next list. These three notified Elephant Reserves covergeographical area about 4679 Sq. km as per the last census report.

and to reverse its deterioration.

• To conserve, protect and open up traditional migration corridor linking thedifferent habitats.

• To continue eco-development activities, welfare measures and mitigation ofelephant depredation.

• To take measures to check poaching and other threats.

• To create facilities for research and veterinary care.

• To educate people about the ecological significance of conservation.

There are 26 notified elephant reserves in India out of which three are inOrissa. Besides these two or more areas have been proposed for future elephantreserves in Orissa.

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Notified Elephant Reserves in IndiaElephant Range Elephant Reserve State Area (Sq. Km) Eastern India (South West Bengal –Jharkhand –Orissa

• Mayurjharna ER • Singbham ER • Mayurbhanj ER • Mahanadi ER • Sambalpur ER

West Bengal Jharkhand Orissa Orissa Orissa

414 4530 3214 1038 427

North Brahmaputra (Arunachal Assam)

• Kames ER • Sonitpur ER

Arunachal Assam

1892 1420

South Brahmaputra(Assam Arunachal )

• Dihing-Patkai ER • Deomali ER

Assam Arunachal

937 9007

Katiranga Assam Nagaland

• Katiranga-KarbiAnglong ER • Dhansiri –Lungdong ER • Intanki ER

Assam Assam Nagaland

3270 2740 202

Eastern Doors Assam-West Bengal)`

• Chirang-Ripu ER • Eastern Dooars ER

Assam W-Bengal

2600 978

Eastern Himalayas (Meghalaya)

• Garo Hills ER Meghalaya 3500

Nilagiri –Eastern Ghats (Karnataka-Kerala-Tamilnadu-Andra)

• Mysore ER • Wayanad ER • Nilgiri ER • Rayala ER

Karnataka Kerla Tamilnadu Andra

6724 1200 4663 766

South Nilgiri (Kerala-Tamil Nadu)

• Nilambar ER • Coimbatore ER

Kerala Tamilnadu

1457 3728

Western Ghats (Tamilnadu-Kerala)

• Anamglai ER • Anamudi ER

Tamilnadu Kerala

Periyar (Kerala-Tamilnadu)

• Periyar ER • Srivilliputtur ER

Kerala Tamilnadu

3742 1249

Northern India (Uttaranchal UP

• Shivalik ER Uttaranchal 5405

Source- Forest & Wild life Statistics 2004 Mayurbhanj ER

It covers parts of Mayurbhanj,Bhadrak, Balasore and Keonjhar districtsof Orissa and bounded by the latitudeof 21º 10' to 22º 35' N & longitude of 85º45' to 87º 05' E . This Reserve (2750 Sq.km) Kuldiha Sanctuary (272.75 Sq. km)and Hadagarh Sanctuary (191.06 Sq. km).Besides, it also includes an area of3529.93 Sq. km comprising of protectedForests, Reserved Forest, Village Forest,DPF and Revenue lands.

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Sambalpur ER

It covers parts of Sambalpur,Sundargarh, Jharsuguda and Sonepurdistricts. The area is bounded betweenthe latitude of 20º 05' to 22º 12' N andlongitude 83º 13' to 84º 58' E. It alsocovers parts of Bamra wildl i fe ,Sambalpur (South), Sambalpur (North)Bonai and Rairkahol division. The areaof elephant habitat is 2559.37 Sq. Km

Mahanadi ERIt includes total area of Satkoshia

Gorge Sanctuary, Baisipalli Sanctuary,Hatidhara RF and Makaraprasad RF.Similarly it covers parts of Angul,Cuttack, Nayagarh, Boudh andDhenkanal districts. The area is boundedbetween the latitude of 20º 10' to 20º 05'and longitude of 84º 15' to 85º 58' E. Thearea of elephant habitat in 3139.16 Sq.km which touches the divis ionsMahanadi Wildlife Division, Angul,Dhenkanal , Athagarh, Athamall ik ,Boudh, Nayagarh & Cuttack Divisions.

Proposed ERThere are another two area which

are proposed for Elephant Reservesnamely Brahmani-Baitarani ER andSouth Orissa ER. Out of this two,Baitarani ER is yet to be notified. Whereas South Orissa ER is underconsiderat ion of GOI. Brahmani-Baitarani Proposed ER Covers area of10560 Sq. km. with 1754.71 Sq. km ofelephant habitat area. It is boundedbetween the latitude of 20º 44' to 22º 9' Nand longitude of 84º 58' to 96º 06' E andcovers the port ions of Keonjhar ,Sundargarh , Angul and Dhenkanaldistr ic ts . I t touches Keonjhar ,Dhenkanal, Angul and Bonai Forestdivis ions . S imilar ly South OrissaProposed ER covers area of 9951.82 Sq.km with 6435.84 Sq. Km of elephanthabitat area comprising of area ofsanctuary, RF and PRF. It touches theforest divisions such as ball igude,Paralakhemundi , Gharasur(N),Ghumsur(S) , Phubani , Boudh ,Kalahandi(S) , Kalahandi(N), andRayagada division. This area coversparts of Ganjam, Gajapati, Kandhamal,

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Rayagada & Kalahandi District. The area is bounded between the latitude of 19º10'to 20º 54' N and longitude of 82º45' to 84º 50' E.

Elephant CensusThe census of elephants conducted

during the year 2002 says the figure ofan about 20696 in India. The figure ofOrissa during that period was 1330. As

All Orissa Elephant Census 2007Name of Circle Geological

Area (Sq.Km)

Total no of elephants

Berhampur Circle

23842 135

Bhawanipatna Circle

12060 76

Rourkela Circle 22120 173 Bhubaneswar Circle

7350 82

Sambalpur circle 8716 297 Baripada Circle 18190 503 Angul Circle 16739 572 Koraput Circle 20774 24 Total 129790 1862

Source- www.wildlifeorissa.in

compared to this the figure in 2005 was21300+ in India whereas in Orissa itincreased 1511.It may be due to betterprotection management by the State. Therecent census report of 2007-08 figures1862 elephants in the entire state.

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Elephant Corridors in Orissa

Captive ElephantsCaptive elephants are now maintained only insome of the 'camps' under State WildlifeOrganisation. In Nandankanan, the elephantsare used for joy rides by visitors. In Similipal, theelephants are used by staff moving for habitat orwildlife protection; when the roads get cut off inthe rains or where elephant power is required tobe deployed. During 2003, there were 10 no. ofcaptive elephants in Nandankanan. During thesame period Similipal Sanctuary and DebrigarhSanctuary had 5 and 1 no. of captive elephants.

A report has been jointly published by WildlifeTrust of India and the Asian Elephant Researchand conservation centre on elephant corridorsof India. A total of 88 elephant corridors wereidentified being currently in use in the countryof these, 14 in northern West Bengal and 22 innorth-eastern India. 77.3% of the corridors arebeing regularly used by elephants. Orissa hasabout 57% of the elephant habitat in CentralIndia with 1800-2000 elephants spread overabout 11 Km2 that forms about 24% of theforest cover of the state. Nearly 44% of theelephant habitat falls within eleven ProtectedAreas of Orissa. Karo-Karmpada corridorconnects Karo and Sidhamata Reserve forest ofKeonjhar Division (Orissa) and KarampadaReserve Forest of Sarada Division (Jharkhand).This corridor is important for continuingbetween the elephant populations of Jharkhandand North Keonjhar and further onwards tothe Bonai Forests of Orissa. The corridor isbeing mostly used by loners and small herds ofelephants generally during October-February.Badamphar-Dhobadhobin corridor connectsBadampahar Reserve Forest with DhobadhobinReserve Forest and Undula Protected Forestleading to Haldipokhari Reserve Forest of SouthChaibasa. This corridor is mostly being used bybulls and small herds corridor leads to the mainelephant habitat of south Chaibasa and Kolhan.Badampahar-Karida east corridor connectsBadamapahar Reserve Forest of Orissa with

Karida Reserve Forest of Jharkhand maintaingthe contiguity between Similipal National Parkand Mosabani Range of Dhalbhun ForestDivision , Jharkhand with a length of 28-30Km. Elephants from Similipal pass throughBadampahar Reserve Forest , Dhasra ReserveForest, Teltangia Village Forest, Teltangia villageForest, Dhenkla National Park, Tungru ReserveForest and Sarali Reserve Forest (Orissa) toenter Karida East Reserve Forest near Satbakra(Jharkhand). Similipal-Satkosia or Simlipal-Hadagarh Corridor connects Simlipal NationalPark with Hardagarh Wildlife Sanctuarythrough Noto and Satkosia Reserve Forest. Thiscorridor is being regularly used by herds of 20-25 elephants and bulls. It is about 15-16 Kmlong. Baula-Kuldiha or Hadagarh-Kuldihacorridor is being used by small herds of 10-15elephants .This corridor connects KuldihaWildlife Sanctuary with Hadagarh WildlifeSanctuary. Kahneijena-Anantapur corridor isbeing used by small herds of 3-5 elephantsduring October-February. Elephants move fromSatkosia Wildlife Sanctuary to AnantapurReserve Forest crossing through number ofreserve forests and Forest Divisions. Tal-Kholgarh corridor connects Tal Reserve Forestwith Kholgarh RF and Landakot RF connectingthe elephant population of Satkosia Wildlifesanctuary with Khalasuni Wildlife sanctuarythrough Baruni RF and Raun RF. This corridoris being used by herds of 15-20 elephants.Nuagaon-Baruni corridor connects SatkosiaWildlife Sanctuary, Talaipathar and NuagaonRF with East and West Baruni RF. Similarly,Kotgarh-Chandrapur corridor is being usedmostly by bulls and small herds of elephants.This corridor connects Kotgarh Wildlifesanctuary with Chandrapur RF of RayagadaForest division.

Elephant Conservation in Orissa:

Activities like hunting of elephants for tusks,diversion of forest lands mainly for mining offorest lands, encroachment and shiftingcultivation result in degradation of elephanthabitat. To manage these problems some stepsare being taken by the State.

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Disclaimer :

The views expressed by the writers do not necessarily reflect the views of eitherCentre for Environmental Studies or The Editor.

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To,

BOOK POST

Death of Elephant & Elephant Degradation:-

During the period of 1990 to 2004, 464 elephantsdied out of which 188 died of poaching, 100due to accident and 36 due to some diseases.Rest are natural death. During the period of1995 to 2004, 259 no of human beings havebeen killed by the elephants & 35 have beeninjured. 18152.67 acres of crop has beendamaged. Similarly 2555 no. of houses havebeen damaged by elephants. AccordinglyRs.15224377 has been paid as compensationby the concerned govt. departments.

Strategy and Action plan of the State:

The following action plan is being implementedby the State.

• Constitution of Elephant Reserves byincluding contiguous elephant habitats,ranges and corridors between them.

• Management of elephant reserves and otherelephant habitats along with conservationof traditional migratory paths.

• Measures are being implemented to minimizethe crop loss, house damage and human kills.

• Management of problem elephants bycapture/ translocation/demonstration orother methods.

• Careful measures are being implemented foradoption of animal welfare likedemonstration and use of elephants fortourism and patrolling.

• Research in elephant conservation.

• Education and awareness campaign amongthe people.

• Set up of veterinary units for sick elephantsin reserves.

• Compared to the loss during last decadeboth on elephant population and humanbeings, the state is managing to preventfurther loss through different managementmeasures.

Acknowledgement:

We extend our thanks to the office of the PCCF (Wildlife) and Chief Wildlife Warden,Orissa for providing information related to this issue.