The issue of man-elephant conflict continues to bother wildlife experts in Odisha. The magnitude of the problem can be gauged from the recent incident of a herd of elephants attacking the jawans of 88th battalion of Border Security Force (BSF) undergoing anti-Maoist training near the Chandaka wildlife sanctuary and leaving six of them injured. A Special Operations Group (SOG) commando of Odisha police who was involved in the training exercise also sustained injuries.
According to reports appearing in a section of the media, the herd of jumbos appeared suddenly from inside the reserve forests while the BSF jawans deployed in the Maoist-infested Koraput district were taking part in the late-night training exercise near Mundasahi in Chandaka area. Chandaka is a wildlife sanctuary known for its elephants. The jawans had to fire in the air to drive away the herd.
While this was the first incident of BSF jawans being attacked by elephants, cases of man-elephant conflict have been on the rise in several parts of the state, including the Chandaka area of the state capital. Incidents of human casualties in elephant attacks are reported as frequently as the death of elephants who often fall victim to the wrath of people, especially villagers whose crops they happen to destroy. Poachers, too, have been taking a heavy toll of these pachyderms.
The statistics tell their own story. Between 2011-12 and 2017-18, at least 393 elephants were killed in the state with most of them falling prey to poaching and electrocution by high-tension wires. There have also been cases of deliberate electrocutions with vengeful victims of elephant raids pulling down wires and letting them fall in the path of pachyderms.
Elephants, too, killed more than 300 persons during this period besides damaging 4,405 houses and crops spread over 69,071 acres. Following each case of death and depredation, the government has to meet compensation demands that put extra burden on the exchequer. This is a worrisome trend.
However, with wildlife officials working overtime to find a solution to the problem of human-animal conflict, there have been some encouraging developments in certain areas of the state. For example, the combined efforts of wildlife officials and local people have turned the Subasi reserve forest under Khuntuni range in the Athagarh forest division into a safe habitat for elephants. In fact, the elephant population in this area has grown over the past three years which saw the birth of at least four calves.
The proactive attitude of senior forest officials in the area has contributed immensely to making this forest division extremely animal-friendly. Elephants, in particular, appear to be enjoying their stay in this forest where a ‘Hati Sathi Bahini’ (elephant-friendly force) was formed in 2018 at the initiative of a senior forest officer. We need more such initiatives in other areas of the state.
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