VELLORE: In the wake of jumbos trampling to death 10 persons in last four years, animal lovers here want the government relocate eight restless elephants that have been stranded in the Vellore-Tiruvannamalai forests.A total of 12 elephants were stranded here 10 years ago during the construction of the Chennai-Bangalore Highway. While two jumbos died of unknown causes, one died of electrocution and the other died after being trapped in a marshy land. A 40-year old female elephant leads the herd which comprises three male and four female animals. In addition, there is a big tusker which moves around alone and joins the herd only during the breeding season. The herd has been causing sleepless nights in villages bordering the forests in the Vellore-Tiruvannamalai region. People in villages like Alangayam, Odugathur, Amirthi and Santhavasal live in constant fear of the animals straying into their lands and causing havoc. The jumbos have trampled three persons in Tiruvannamalai region alone in the last two weeks.The elephants, which used to migrate from their original habitat to visit the forests in the Vellore-Tiruvannamalai region periodically, got stranded when the work on the National Highway began in 2001. Road separated the elephant corridor and forced the animals to stay back here. With just about 50,000 hectares of forest land out of a total of 2.5 lakh hectares left for them to move around, the animals have apparently turned restless. The problem is compounded by those cultivating banana, groundnut, vegetables and coconut nearby the forests. Several farmers have made deep bore wells that have led to the depletion of the water table within the forest area. This forces animals to come out in search of food and water.While the forest department has been sensitising the villagers not to provoke the animals when they stray into fields, this warning has often been ignored. Since 2009, compensation to the tune of Rs 30 lakh has been paid to farmers for the loss of crop while another Rs 15 lakh has been paid for loss of human life.Vellore DFO T V Manjunatha, who has studied the movement of the elephants, said the animals follow a regular pattern. “They come out of the forest only at night and return before dawn. They move from one part of the forest to another during the same period of the year for five to six months from December to June and stay deep inside the jungle, usually in the Santhavasal area in Tiruvannamalai district,” Manjunatha said. The female elephant that leads the herd is very protective of her two young ones and any provocation from farmers has usually met with retaliation. Animal lovers feel that with very little scope to regenerate forests, the area available for the movement of elephants will continue to shrink. To solve this, it is necessary to either restore the age-old elephant corridor that connected Chittoor with the Western Ghats or create new animal passes along the highway to facilitate the migration of jumbos. The other option would be to forcibly relocate the animals to their original habitat.
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