The depletion of ficus and fodder species in the Corbett tiger reserve is posing a problem for elephants.
The Corbett honourary warden Brijendra Singh warns that if effective steps are not taken now, the human-elephant conflict will increase drastically in the coming years and lead to a desperate situation in a decade. Corbett officials state that the situation is being studied. Talking to The Pioneer, Singh said that even the half a dozen trained elephants in Corbett are undergoing hardships because after ferrying tourists for about six hours a day, they spend about four hours on collection of fodder.
“Due to the depletion of ficus trees and fodder species in Corbett, the fodder for the overworked trained elephants has to be brought from about 10-12 kms away. The wild elephants in Corbett too face the consequences of this depletion but they cover a wider area than the trained pachyderms. “Though the problems being faced by the trained elephants might be resolved if the recent decision of the Chief Minister to ensure adequate nutrition to them and forming a separate cadre for mahouts and fodder cutters is effectively executed, the situation being faced by the wild elephants will deteriorate if effective steps are not taken for wildlife management.
like leopards are increasingly coming into conflict with humans due to the decrease in their prey base, the wild elephants too will become increasingly involved in conflicts with humans if adequate fodder for them is not ensured in the forests,” said Singh. He said that there have been cases in Africa where wild elephants had to be culled due to depletion of fodder.
“We do not even want to think about such a scenario here but if effective steps are not taken now, the human-elephant conflict will become a much more serious problem in about a decade. Their raids on farms and villages in search of food will increase drastically if ficus and palatable grasses are not grown in the jungles, apart from which the wildlife corridors also need to be opened to allow free movement of the pachyderms between protected forest areas,” he stressed.
The Corbett deputy director Dr Saket Badola acknowledged that this was an issue in Corbett which has more than 500 wild elephants. “The problem related to depletion of fodder is being studied and focus will be laid on plantation of the required species,” he said.