Elephant habitat area has shrunk by more than half in the Western Ghats, the stronghold of pachyderms according to a study.
The study undertaken by Wildlife Conservation Society India (WCSI) has found that out of the 38,000 sq kms landscape, 21,000 sq kms comprised potential habitat land but less than 13, 500 was actually occupied by elephants. This, the WCSI said, was due to high density human population and intensive agriculture.
The study was conducted by a group of wildlife experts namely Devcharan Jathanna, Dr K Ullas Karanth, Dr N Samba Kumar, Dr Krithi K Karanth and Dr Varun R Goswami.
It aimed to come out with accurate information on elephant spatial distribution or population size, for effective conservation of the species, particularly in the face of increasing habitat loss, conflict with humans and poaching.
Using an occupancy sampling and modelling approach, scientists at WCSI and Centre for Wildlife Studies mapped elephant distribution across the 38,000 sq kms Malenad landscape.
“We found that human presence played a key role in determining where elephants were found,” explained Devcharan Jathanna, lead author of the study. Only 64 per cent of the 21,000 sq kms of elephant habitat in the landscape was occupied by elephants, emphasising this point, he added.
The study recommends the need for strict regulations to secure this critical landscape. The research establishes a reliable protocol to study elephant distribution, one that can be used by governmental and non-governmental agencies engaged in elephant conservation throughout their range.
“Many methods used to assess elephant distribution today. But for instance presence-only methods, can be highly inaccurate. What we use in this study is a vast improvement, and is easily applicable over large landscapes, in addition to being reliable”, said Dr. Karanth, Director for Science — Asia, WCS, and co-author of the study.
Earlier, WCSI had brought out a reliable approach to monitor elephant populations in key protected areas, Such studies according to experts can advance our understanding of the status and distribution of endangered species, including the Asian elephant. It can help devise more effective conservation strategies, and monitor the efficacy of their implementation.