The Karnataka Forest department has evolved a way to reduce man-animal conflict by using radioactive collars. In fact, hundreds of elephants in the State which stray into the human habitats have become victims of the conflict and the department wants to reduce this by using homemade radio collars.
The department has sought the help of Bangalore-based premier science research centre, Indian Institute of Science (IISC) to develop desi collars to use on straying elephants. The Forest department in collaboration with Department of Electronics at the IISC will monitor elephants at Rajiv Gandhi National Park known as Nagarahole forest in Karnataka.
According to GS Prabhu, Principal Chief Conservator of Forest (PCCF), Wildlife, the department was using the radioactive collar bought from Africa and wants to extend it to Nagarahole in collaboration with the IISC.
He said, “In a view to reduce man-animal conflict we have already experimenting with radioactive collars, bought from Africa, by tracking four elephants in Bannerghatta. The experiment will now be extended to Nagarahole with the help of IISC.”
The IISC will be building the indigenous Global Position System (GPS)-fitted collar and using it to collect relevant data from stray elephants. The Forest department will facilitate the study by fitting elephants with collars and sending them into the forest.
According to a senior forest official, who is involved in this study, the collar which is fitted with the stray elephant would help locate the position of it with GPS system to drive them back.
He said, “The GPS-fitted collars are helpful in tracking them and sending them back to forest. This system also helps the scientific team to study more on elephants. Once the herd comes out of the forest, the elephants are tracked and forest team will send them back to forest. This process will certainly help reduce conflict.”
The Forest department intends to use this on a few stray pachyderms to see their behaviour and track them to avoid the conflict. The effectiveness of the system also helps save the elephant route by reducing the conflict. The department has also decided to use Google maps for identifying the locations where wild elephants have strayed.
As per the directions of the Karnataka High Court, the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) had constituted a task force to deal with man-elephant conflicts in Karnataka. The eight-member task force comprises Ajay Desai, member of Project Elephant Steering Committee; R Sukumar, professor at the Indian Institute of Science; Sharat Chandra lele, sociologist at the Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and Environment; CH Basappanavar, retired forest officer; SS Bisht, former director of project elephant; BR Deepak, advocate; NK Madhusudan, elephant biologist and the Chief Conservator of Forests, Mysore Elephant reserve.
According to Karnataka Elephant Census 2010, the elephant population in the 18 forest divisions spread over 9,000 sq km is between 5,549 and 5,600. The male to female sex ratio is 1:1.2.