Mammoth problems, meaningful solutions: Marrying technical data and conservation

Bengaluru-headquartered Asian Nature Conservation Foundation founded by Prof Raman Sukumar of IISc and the late Prof Dhritikanta Lahiri Choudhury has been actively involved in elephant conservation since 1997. The Assam Forest Department wanted actionable insights and requested the team to look at the human-elephant conflicts in Golaghat district near Kaziranga and Hamren district near Karbi Anglong. “The short-term goal was providing the elephants’ location using a GPS collar so that it acts as an early warning during the crop-harvesting season for the forest department, gram panchayat members and farmers. The best strategy is to stop the contact between elephants and humans, thus preventing conflicts.” Sanjay Ajanikar, programme director at ANCF adds, “We are looking at the movement patterns of elephant. These include preservation of Brahmagiri- Tirunelli elephant corridor in collaboration with the Kerala state government and Wildlife Trust of India, assessment of carrying capacity of major elephant habitats in Odisha, survey of elephant corridors along railway tracks in north west Bengal to address the issue of elephant deaths in train accidents, management of human elephant conflict in Bengaluru-Hosur landscape using radio collars, camera traps and other traditional methods, preparation of a management plan for central Indian elephants landscape and so on.