Coimbatore Forest Division and Tamil Nadu Agricultural University (TNAU) will collaborate to study elephant habitat management and mitigation of human - elephant conflict.
Study of existing crop patterns, use of organophosphorus compounds in agricultural practices, and restoration of native grasses in traditional wildlife foraging areas are planned as part of the collaboration, said forest department officials.
Experts with TNAU will study existing crop patterns in places on the sides of Bhavani river that are adjacent to elephant habitats in Mettupalayam and Sirumugai forest ranges. They will suggest changes in agronomy and cropping pattern to reduce incidents of human-elephant conflict, officials said.
Usage of organophosphorus compounds in cropping practices along the Bhavani river areas will be studied by experts as such chemicals could cause chronic random poisoning of wildlife, including elephants. According to the forest department officials, two elephants have reportedly died due to chronic poisoning of the liver, possibly due to long-term raiding of crops applied with pesticides.
Developing a protocol to identify native fodder grasses, standardise multiplication techniques to restore native grasses in traditional wildlife foraging areas are also part of the study.
I. Anwardeen, Additional Principal Chief Conservator of Forests, Coimbatore Circle, and D. Venkatesh, District Forest Officer, Coimbatore Forest Division, proposed the collaboration with N. Kumar, Vice-Chancellor of TNAU.
Mr. Kumar nominated K.T. Parthiban, Dean of Forest College and Research Institute, Mettupalayam, to be the nodal person to facilitate the Forest Department with Crop Protection, Agronomy and Forage Crops directorates of TNAU.
A web meeting was conducted in this regard earlier this month. The Forest Department officials presented details regarding the crop preferences, raiding pattern of elephants and indirect chronic poisoning due to continuous raiding of farms sprayed with pesticides. They also presented the model grassland restoration work done at Kalakad Mundanthurai Tiger Reserve and also the general migration habitat usage pattern of elephants to the officials of TNAU.