The elephant landscape has undergone a dramatic change in Odisha due to mindless mining and unplanned developmental activities, the Wildlife Society of Orissa (WSO), an environmental group, said here on Wednesday.
“The elephant landscape has changed dramatically in the last two decades. Keonjhar district, which had 112 elephants in 2002, now has only 40 due to large-scale mining,” said Biswajit Mohanty, secretary, WSO, and former member of the National Board for Wildlife.
“Dhenkanal district, which had 81 elephants in 2002, now has 169, with many getting trapped in the Rengali irrigation canals. Similarly, the 70 odd elephants from the Chandaka sanctuary have virtually abandoned the area and have migrated to Ganjam, Nayagarh and Cuttack districts. Many were killed by trains or due to electrocution in Ganjam,” he added.
The woes of the distressed elephants in the State has gone up with time as their habitats and paths are continuously encroached upon for mining, farming, industries and urbanisation, Mr. Mohanty said.
“In 1979, there were 2,044 elephants in the State. Today, their numbers have reduced to 1,976 [2017 census] after they were compelled to leave native forests, scatter into smaller populations and enter new areas. Now, 26 of the 30 districts have elephants,” he said.
Five elephants were found dead in the Keonjhar forest division in the last 20 days.
The elephants have lost their habitats mainly due to rampant mining in Keonjhar, Sundargarh, Jharsuguda and Angul, which leaves little space for the animals, the WSO said.
Alleging that elephant corridors and reserve plans were only confined to paper, Mr. Mohanty said, “Most of the traditional elephant corridors have been degraded, which restricts their migration. Fourteen elephant corridors were officially identified in 2010, covering over 870 sq. km, with a length of 420.8 km. Around ₹20 crore was earmarked to secure and develop them. Though the State spent ₹20 crore in improving the corridors, the government has not issued a formal notification to secure them under the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986.”
Moreover, as Odisha was consistently losing male elephants, the jumbo population was gradually becoming unsustainable.
“According to the 2017 census, 344 of the 1,976 elephant population were male. But it is apprehended that the male elephant population may be less than 150. About 20 adult breeding male elephants die each year, mostly due to unnatural causes like poaching and electrocution,” the WSO secretary said.
The organisation’s research also pointed out that the elephant mortality rate had been rising alarmingly. The average death per year between 1990 and 2000 was around 33, which has increased to 46 per year between 2001 and 2010. Since 2010, the average death record was 76 elephants per year.