Panel identifies 42 elephant corridors in T.N., invites comments from public

Tamil Nadu committee identifies 42 elephant corridors, seeks public feedback on draft report, highlighting human-elephant conflicts and habitat preservation.

A committee constituted by the Tamil Nadu government to identify elephant corridors in the State has brought out a list of 42 elephant corridors and has invited comments from the public, on the draft report.

Comments on the draft, which can be accessed at https://www.forests.tn.gov.in/tn-forest-dept-publications, can be sent to elephantcorridortnfd@gmail.com.

The number of elephant corridors identified by the panel is much higher than the number of corridors listed by the Project Elephant division of the Ministry of Environment Forest and Climate Change in 2023. The MoEFCC division had identified 20 corridors: 15 located within the State and five inter-state corridors connecting with forests of Karnataka and Kerala.

The Elephant Corridor Committee, comprising officers of the Forest Department, scientific experts, and scientific and conservation organisations under the chairmanship of V. Naganathan, Additional Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (Wildlife), carried out a reassessment of the corridors through literature surveys, ground validation and mapping.

As per the draft document, the synchronised census in 2017 reported 2,761 elephants distributed across 26 forest divisions in Tamil Nadu. The synchronised census in 2023 indicated an estimated population of 2,961 elephants in the State. Elephants are distributed across 20 of the 26 forest divisions in Tamil Nadu, covering 9217.13 sq.km, the report said.

The panel was tasked to reassess the corridors, considering various factors, including fragmentation of elephant habitats and increasing human – elephant conflicts. As per the report, human-elephant conflict has been widespread across 20 forest divisions in Tamil Nadu, with varying degrees of intensity. Coimbatore, Gudalur, Hosur forest divisions and Sathyamangalam Tiger Reserve experienced intense human-elephant conflict among the forest divisions.

Habitat connectivities or corridors provide for the movement of elephants, facilitate gene flow between populations, range shifts and minimise human-elephant conflicts, for the long-term viability of elephant populations, the report said