Human-animal conflict touches jumbo figures

The Times of India , Wednesday, March 18, 2015
Correspondent : TNN

BHUBANESWAR: It's raging war between humans and jumbos! While 685 elephants died in past 11 years, mainly because of humans, the animals killed 660 people and injured 272 during the same period.

According to government figures, of the pachyderm deaths (between 2004 and March 10, 2015), only one-sixth (117) died due to aging. Causes of death of the rest are mostly poaching, poisoning and electrocution.

Forest and environment minister Bikram Keshari Arukh told the assembly on Tuesday that 89 elephants were poached and 14 poisoned.

A total of 102 pachyderms were electrocuted. While 52 animals died of accidental electrocution, 50 were trapped in live wires laid by poachers and villagers, who tried to prevent the animals from entering habitations and farmlands.

Seventy-one fell into ditches or drowned and 155 died of diseases. Train accidents claimed 16. The government failed to ascertain reason of 121 big mammals' death.

In their struggle for existence, the pachyderms damaged over 8,000 houses. They also destroyed 87,403-acre standing crops and killed 66 domestic animals. The government had to pay Rs 43.35-crore compensation to the affected people.

The minister said the state has been taking steps to minimize man-animal conflict.

The government planted saplings and dug ponds to provide food and water to the jumbos.

The minister said the state government had started a five-year programme to develop 14 elephant corridors. It had improved power infrastructure in areas, inhabited by jumbos, to prevent electrocution deaths, he said.

Wildlife campaigners said the government figures seem twisted to downplay a far grim situation on the ground. "The jumbo deaths mentioned as 'due to unknown reasons and poisoning' are mostly caused by poaching. Most deaths, projected as due to diseases, are aimed at reducing poaching figures. The government has hardly done anything to reduce man-animal conflict," said wildlife campaigner Biswajit Mohanty.

According to Elephant Census 2012, which is the latest count, the animal population in the state stood at 1,930. They include 334 tuskers, 1,087 females, 463 calves and 46 of unknown sex.

 
SOURCE : http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/bhubaneswar/Human-animal-conflict-touches-jumbo-figures/articleshow/46605102.cms
 


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