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The Hindu
3 days ago
- General
- The Hindu
Transboundary elephant raids: Farmers in Bhutan leave croplands fallow
GUWAHATI: Farmers in Bhutan and India tend to leave their croplands fallow, fearing raids by elephants driven out of their natural habitats owing to anthropogenic or human-caused activities. Data on farmers on the Indian side of the boundary between the two countries abandoning their fields is not available. A report in Trumpet, a quarterly journal of the Wildlife Institute of India, said 30% of their counterparts in Bhutan leave their land fallow, fearing crop damage. The report cites a 2024 study revealing the scale of the challenge in Bhutan's Sarpang Forest Division, where more than 40% of the households reported experiencing human-elephant conflicts (HEC). 'Alarmingly, 30% of farmers leave their land fallow, fearing crop damage. Elephants primarily raid maize and paddy, which are the most widely cultivated crops, but cash crops like areca nut, oranges, ginger, and cardamom have also been targeted. The cultivated area for maize and paddy was large as compared to other crops, resulting in the maximum incidence of crop raiding by elephants,' the report said. The authors of the report are Ugyen Tshering, an officer at Bhutan's Jomotsangkha Wildlife Sanctuary; Sonali Ghosh, the Director of Kaziranga National Park and Tiger Reserve; and Rupali Thakur and Anukul Nath of the Assam Forest Department. According to its national elephant survey in 2016, Bhutan has an estimated 678 elephants primarily inhabiting the southern foothills bordering Assam and West Bengal. While these animals are integral to the region's biodiversity, their presence increasingly comes at a cost to local communities, with HEC causing economic strain and social stress, particularly for farmers in southern Bhutan. Joint Assam-Meghalaya hydropower project opposed 'Farmers in Sarpang have observed a steady rise in elephant incursions, a trend likely driven by forest degradation and fragmentation, which push elephants into human-dominated areas. Yet, a significant number of conflict incidents remain unreported,' the report says. One of the factors behind under-reporting is said to be religious beliefs rooted in Bhutanese culture, which encourage compassion toward wildlife. 'Local communities in Sarpang have predominantly relied on traditional mitigation measures, including keeping night vigils, making fire, and beating drums. However, many farmers view electric fencing as the most effective solution,' the report says, pointing out that only 0.65% of the affected farmers in Sarpang could afford electric fences. Compared to their counterparts in Bhutan, more farmers in India – specifically Assam's Bodoland Territorial Region (BTR) – are opting for electric or solar-powered fences and bio-fences, which involve growing 'elephant-repellent' cash crops such as lemon and chilli around rice and vegetable fields. The study attributes this to support from local governments and NGOs. Regional soft diplomacy HEC results in about 300 human and 200 elephant deaths in India every year, apart from damage to about 15,000 houses and 8-10 million hectares of crops. One of the major critical stretches is along the BTR-Bhutan border, more than 250 km long. During the late 1980s, present-day BTR experienced a severe socio-political crisis arising out of the Bodoland statehood movement, devastating the infrastructure of the region and causing large-scale destruction of the wildlife and its habitat, specifically the Chirang-Ripu Elephant Reserve and the adjoining Manas Tiger Reserve. Asiatic wild dog returns to Assam's Kaziranga landscape The extent of the damage was evident from the eastern part of this landscape in 2009, when 14 people and 10 elephants died in conflicts. The study calls for promoting 'regional soft diplomacy by promoting multi-stakeholder groups such as the Trans-boundary Manas Conservation Area, a Bhutan-India collaborative initiative established in 2011 to address protected areas and biological corridors along the border between the two countries. The study advocates exploring and implementing a variety of community and household-based protection measures, including cooperative crop guarding and fencing. 'Creating awareness and educating communities on the importance of elephant conservation should be initiated by officials from protected areas and other environmental and educational agencies,' it says. It also underlines capacity building and law enforcement. 'The officials and local teams on both sides of the border can be jointly trained to enforce the law and also maintain relevant databases. Illegal activities that result in elephant mortality can be prevented by such joint enforcement,' the study says.
Time of India
02-06-2025
- Science
- Time of India
Assam: Clouded leopard caught on camera for the first time preying on Bengal slow loris
In a remarkable breakthrough for wildlife research, the first-ever photographic evidence of a clouded leopard (Neofelis nebulosa) preying on a Bengal slow loris (Nycticebus bengalensis) has been documented in Assam's Dehing Patkai National Park. Captured on December 7, 2024, by a camera trap installed by the Wildlife Institute of India (WII) in collaboration with the Assam Forest Department, this rare image offers new insights into the predatory behavior of one of Asia's most elusive big cats. The image, which was captured along a woodland route in the Digboi woodland Division's Saraipung range, shows a clouded leopard holding a Bengal slow loris by the nape. Because the clouded leopard is a nocturnal and elusive creature, it has been difficult to research its food; this new observation helps us better understand it. Read more: Goa achieves 100% literacy: How India's party capital hit this milestone Dehing Patkai National Park, upgraded from a wildlife sanctuary in 2021, spans 234.26 square kilometers and is part of the larger 937-square-kilometer Dehing Patkai Elephant Reserve. It is the only protected forest in India that hosts eight wild cat species, including the tiger, common leopard, fishing cat, golden cat, marbled cat, jungle cat, and leopard cat. The camera trap project involved dividing the park into 2-square-kilometer grids, with 95 camera traps strategically placed to monitor the feline population. This systematic approach led to the groundbreaking capture of the clouded leopard's predation event. The study's lead researcher, Bilal Habib, underlined the significance of the discovery, saying that it advances our knowledge of the diet and predatory habits of clouded leopards and emphasises the need for conservation initiatives for both species. Read more: 5 UNESCO World Heritage sites in Madhya Pradesh The nocturnal primate noted for its poisonous bite, the Bengal slow loris, is classified as "Vulnerable" on the IUCN Red List. Its observation as clouded leopard prey increases our understanding of predator-prey dynamics in this biodiverse area. This finding highlights the importance of camera traps in wildlife research by providing insight into the covert lifestyles of elusive species and guiding conservation efforts to save these distinctive residents of the northeastern rainforests of India. One step to a healthier you—join Times Health+ Yoga and feel the change
