Threatened

Cuttack, Dec. 31: Orissa is facing a Catch-22 situation over elephant conservation, as more pachyderms are moving into human habitats due to destruction of elephant corridors.

Wild elephants lumbered into Athagarh, a sub-divisional headquarters in Cuttack on December 25. The presence of a big herd of 40 wild elephants in areas near Chilka Lake, earlier in the month, was also unprecedented.

The presence of elephants in Athagarh and Chilka, experts believe, is symptomatic of the alarming fallout of man-made disturbances in the natural habitats and corridors of pachyderms. Elephants move from one forest to another in search of food. Some 1,800-odd elephants inhabit the forests of Orissa.

Officials admit that the five main corridors in the state and two others, linking Bihar and Orissa, which helped the animals move from one place to another are fast depleting, posing a threat to their survival.

While the Similipal corridor is threatened by the mining activities at Boula chromite mines, the traffic on the national highway has affected Satkosia.

Absence of crossing paths over the Rengali irrigation canal has been preventing movement between Dhenkanal and Keonjhar.

Wildlife activists say there had been rapid loss of habitat due to illegal felling of trees and rampant collection of sal leaves from the forests for leaf-plate making in prime elephant habitats like Dhenkanal, Narsinghpur, Satkosia, Athmalik, Sambalpur and Rairakhol.

Illegal collection and trade in Non Timber Forest Produce such as Siali leaves, Bel fruits and various creepers have deprived the elephants of food.

Mining, followed by deforestation and poaching, has emerged as the single-most important factor for the rapid loss of habitat and corridor path.

“It’s unfortunate that the government has been issuing mining licence and allowing industries to come up in the middle of elephant habitats devastating well-marked corridors,” rues Biswajit Mohanty, secretary of Wildlife Society of Orissa. “Government’s withdrawal of two elephant reserve projects are a case to the point,” alleged Mohanty.

The Baitarani Elephant Reserve Project was to come up in an area over 1,0560sqkm covering parts of four districts — Keonjhar, Dhenkanal, Anugul and Sundargarh. While south Orissa elephant reserve project would have to be created on 4216sqkm in Rayagada, Kandhamal and Kalahandi.

Sources said the divisional forest officer, in January 2007, had recommended a shutdown of four chromite mines on the fringes of Hadagarh sanctuary for protection of tuskers. But the wildlife wing has ignored requests till date.