Are
elephants one of the chief inhabitants?
Yes. In fact, though we have a large variety of bird and animal species, the elephants are
on of the chief inhabitants of the Banerghatta National Park.
What is the traffic to the park and are they manageable?
The no of visitors to the park is nearly 5.75 to 6 lakhs per annum including foreigners.
The infrastructure and facilities are groaning under the load. Therefore the Tourism
Department have been handed over the responsibility of the visitors. Of course the
restrictions still remain, like the strict prohibition of night halts in the Park.
Why?
Because night halts will lead to antisocial activities like prostitution etc. Even now you
would have noticed that most of the resorts on Banerghatta road are being frequently
raided due to this. But we do allow halts for students from educational institutions as
part of Nature camps organized to familiarize them with the forests.
What is the number of elephants in Banerghatta?
We have 5 nos of domesticated elephants in the visitors enclosure.
Whereas I would put the figure of resident wild elephants at 55 to 60 and migratory
numbers another 60 tough elephant experts quote much higher figures. Banerghatta and the
neighboring forests are part of the Eastern Corridor, which is again part of the largest
elephant zone in the south.
Can the area within the National Park sustain these herds?
Not at all. One single wild elephant requires 10 sq.kms of land area . Therefore, what
area falls under Banerghatta can just about sustain 10 elephants. We have more than five
times that number here, not to mention the migratory herds. Elephants are known to travel
upto 600 kms during a single season. You’ll be surprised to note that a herd of 9
elephants from this zone suddenly appeared at Tirupati one day. They are there even today,
though Tirupati does not come in any of the elephant zones.
So what is the fallout of this scenario of shortage of area ?
The immediate outcome is that the elephants will spill out of the Park limits and into the
city which is a dangerous situation. This has happened before. In 1995-96 elephants were
spotted in J.P.Nagar.
How do you manage this situation ?
By constant vigil on the herds and driving away the migratory herds into the neighbouring
state with the use of firecrackers.This we understand is a tremendous strain on the
elephants.They hardly have time to rest. We inform the neighbouring forest authorities of
the drives in advance and similarly vice versa. If left to themselves they will wreck
havoc with the crops of the villagers as well as enter city limits.
Why do the elephants attack the crops? Is there shortage of feed in the park?
The problem is multi-dimensional. The park has enough to sustain the elephants. But
the problem is the illegal grazing of cattle and sheep within the boundaries of the
Park.There are over 8,000 cattle presently
Grazing. If we put a total stop to it, it will turn out into an unmanageable social issue.
Then there is the problem of the squatters. If you are to choose
between bread and ras malai, you would naturally choose ras malai. With the
elephants it is similar. Between plain fodder and sugarcane, they head for the sugarcane.
And an elephant consumes only 10% of the crop. The rest 90% is destroyed. Then there
is the quarrying activity. The sound of the blasting confuse the animals. There is
also the presence of the Khodays distillery. The smell of the sugar extracts attracts the
animals.
What are the preventive measures?
Preventive measures are short, medium and long term measures. For the short term, we
are helping get the crop and the cattle insured against elephant attacks and damage. You
must also understand that at present, we are the only forest department in the country
providing one lakh rupees as death insurance. As a medium term measure we propose to seal
off the entire boundary of the park, leaving enough space for corridors for passage of the
migratory herd. And finally as a long term measure we will have to adopt and implement the
scientific cropping pattern methods.this envisages planting any crops other than those
like sugarcane, ragi, etc which are targeted by the elephants. This is a long term
prospect as it takes time to change the mind set of the villagers to change a crop which
they have been harvesting for generations. But in the long run we are hopeful.
How do you foresee the future of Banerghatta and its elephants?
During the early 1940’s, the British Cantonment stationed in Bangalore had denuded
the Banerghatta forests by chopping trees for charcoal and railway sleepers. What we see
today is a regenerated forest in its teenage stage. In the next 25 years Banerghatta will
become another Nagarhole with dense and lush foliage. But Banerghatta has to be
cared and nurtured for as "Namma Banerghatta". It is each and every citizen and
official’s duty to be aware of Banerghatta’s problems and work toward a
solution. The awareness has to spread and the public and nature groups have to take up the
cause. If this doesn’t happen, the future of Banerghatta and its elephants are at
stake.
|
