What is the elephant problem in India?
Elephants in India are facing a fragmentation in their habitat. Once the habitat gets fragmented the elephant population becomes unviable. Elephants have lost their habitat in the North-East in Assam and Meghalaya because of clearing of forests which is in the hands of village communities. In Jharkhand and Orissa the habitat has suffered due to mining. In the South it is relatively stable. What is being done in practical terms to stop further loss of habitat? Some of us have got together to form the Asian Nature Conservation Foundation (ANCF). This, in league with the Union government and Wildlife Trust of India, has widened two corridors in Bandipur and Kollegal forest divisions and one at Bhramagiri in Kerala. The ANCF has identified the need for creating or widening 40 more corridors in South India and 60 in other parts of the country. We are also trying to map details of distribution of elephants through ground surveys using satellite imagery. Critical links are being examined and
