Protect the Habitat of the Asian Elephants in India

Description

Bannerghatta National Park is dry deciduous scrub forest, a key habitat for the Asian Elephant Elephas maximus. Because the park lies just outside Bangalore, the sprawling growth of that city is causing human-elephant conflict with casualties on both sides as elephants leave the forest to seek food in neighboring farmland.

‘Across India, elephants are moving into areas where they have never set foot before,’ remarks Avinash Krishnan, A Rocha India’s Conservation Officer. Asia is the world’s most densely populated continent, so as towns and villages multiply and former habitats become degraded, elephants are moving out in search of food, resulting in greater conflict with people.

A Rocha India runs ecology camps for local schools, organizes public talks in the city, and trains new forest guards. In addition, A Rocha India has completed surveys examining agriculturalists’ use of the landscape which have given a clearer understanding of the human-elephant conflict and ideas for creative ways that could help solve these issues.

In alerting members of the corporate, educational, and professional communities to the plight of Bannerghatta’s wildlife, A Rocha India has been central in building a community that places far greater importance on conserving the habitats that wildlife requires.

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