Decimation of pachyderm landscape in Odisha triggers human-elephant conflict

Bhubaneshwar, Aug 11(UNI) Unabated human interference in the form of mining, farming, industries and urbanisation in Odisha’s elephant landscape has virtually ravaged the traditional habitat corridors of heritage animals, bringing them into frequent conflict with humans.

Of human origin, obstacles like irrigation canals, railway lines and highways meandering through their habitats and traditional migratory paths are hindering the giant animals’ migration and movement for food.

All these factors have contributed towards the straying of elephants to places of human habitation, triggering man-elephant conflict, pointed out Biswajit Mohanty, a conservationist.

Humans getting killed due to elephant attacks and fatalities from pachyderms are occurring in the state at alarming frequency as measures to arrest the trend are found wanting, he alleged.

Odisha elephants have been prized as war elephants since ancient times, from Mahabharata to the Mughal era; they were even exported to South East Asia. However, the state has now turned into a gruesome graveyard for pachyderms for 10 years, he charged.

The state is currently home to 2098 elephants as per the latest census of these animals, while in 1979 there were 2044 elephants, mostly confined to rich forested districts like Mayurbhanj, Keonjhar, Sambalpur, Angul, Sundargarh and Cuttack.

However, the elephant population has become stagnant though the elephants have scattered across 24 districts.

The elephants originally from neighboring Jharkhand and West Bengal migrate to Odisha. In the process, they also get counted as the state’s elephants during the census.

Keonjhar division, which was once a rich and safe habitat, has lost most of its elephants to large-scale mining with many migrating outside forever, while Dhenkanal district, which had 81 elephants in 2002, had as many as 239 in 2024, he said.

At present, Dhenkanal is a hot bed of conflict as elephants get driven away relentlessly while the local youth chase and harass them. The highly stressed and angry elephants retaliate and kill humans.

The tolerance from both sides is on the edge, with angry farmers refusing to tolerate huge crops and human lives anymore.

They regularly charge wire fences with main line power to save crops, thereby killing them, he pointed out.

The Hindol Range of Dhenkanal witnesses more Human Elephant Conflict than any other landscape in India. A web of crude solar-powered fences, numerous live wire poaching contraptions, live wire crop fences, dangerously deep stone quarry pits and night-long blasting has turned the area into a veritable death trap.

Besides, Angul is turning into the world’s largest colliery, leaving little space for the elephants. In 2023, 15 people were killed in the Bantala Range alone, while six elephants were electrocuted in the last three years. These elephants were driven out from Chhendipada and Talcher due to vast coal mine pits amidst prime elephant habitat.

Furthermore, 60 odd elephants from Chandaka sanctuary near Bhubaneswar disturbed by development activities around the sanctuary, migrated to Ganjam and Cuttack areas years ago.

A group of 15 to 16 elephants from Chandaka which stayed put in Ganjam’s Rambha area for about 4 to 5 years has been completely wiped out by electrocutions, road accidents and train kills.

Another group of 15–16 elephants were holed up in Ganjam’s Khallikote range, but their number has halved now. Some Chandaka elephants entered Puri district, where they were never seen in the past, resulting in severe conflict in which several lives have been lost on both sides.

A larger group of 25 Chandaka elephants which migrated to Cuttack district has now been reduced to less than 20 and is moving around in small patches of forests in the Athagarh and Khuntuni ranges.

A large extended elephant family of nearly 60 is now reduced to only about 35 animals; the herd is now broken up into smaller isolated groups which have no future.

Alleging that there is a near collapse in elephant protection due to zero accountability of forest officers, Mohanty said only guards and foresters are suspended for a few months and then reinstated.

“Not a single forest officer has been dismissed from service for miserable failure to save elephants. “Unless there is fixing of accountability from top level downwards; unless the Forest Minister reviews protection every month and involves independent conservationists, Odisha will continue to earn the dubious distinction of being India’s elephant graveyard”, he charged.