The pages of the Panchatantra are filled with intelligent birds, angry tigers and happy-go-lucky bears. The personalities we’ve grown up attributing to these animals have helped us learn about their lives in the forest. Whenever the forest is in peril, the animals work together to solve it. Each species has unknowingly adopted a role that contributes to a healthy ecosystem, in the larger picture. Elephants have many interesting characters that have earned them the role of recreation in the forest.
Everything — from their trunks that can store over 50 litres of water, to their dung that is nutritious enough to fertilise the soil and rich with seeds to multiply the flora in the forest — has been a cause of intrigue. It were facts like these that gripped Ramanujam K, assignment editor at Kalaignar TV, when he learnt of them at a webinar hosted by the Podhigai Charal Charitable Trust in June. In collaboration with WAR for Nature, Podhigai Charal, Wildlife Trust Of India, he published an ebook on elephants in Tamil, called Kuzhanthaigalin Nayagan.
By distributing it free of cost, he is ensuring that this knowledge is not restricted to only people who can afford it. In a QnA with CE, Ramanujam explains the conception of his book and his views on the protection of elephants in the country.
How did you plan to write this book?
Podhigai Charal conducted a webinar on elephants in June. They shared facts about how elephants can sense water below the ground and dig it with their trunks. Elephants can travel 30 km per day and drink 100 litres of water at a time. Those facts were new to us. I realised that, as a journalist, if I don’t know such important information, how would a school student know about it. This question was the spark behind this initiative.
What aspects of elephants have you covered?
We have covered the lifestyle of elephants and their contribution to the environment. We have also narrated the importance of elephants to humans. For example, elephants eat fruits from trees and defecate in a different place, a few kilometres away. The undigested seed in the dung begins to germinate when the atmospheric conditions are good. So, we can reforest with elephants. Elephants can sense the water below the ground, and dig it with its trunk in a lowdepth area. Their leftover food, water and even migration corridors are of great help to smaller animals. There are many more things to say about elephants but, in a nutshell, if one wants to reforest, we just need more elephants in the forest.
Are you a wildlife enthusiast?
I am a nature lover and so is my family. My daughter Prabha is interested in wildlife and birds. She has a YouTube channel called Birds2Birds, where she posts her learnings about birds and animals. She was my inspiration. My wife also conducts some activities to save nature through the Podhigai Charal Charitable Trust. I feel we took our first step to act.
How involved are you in reporting stories on conservation of elephants?
As I don’t do much fieldwork during the lockdown, I emphasise on the importance of nature and encourage our team at PCCT to focus more on it. Even recently, we deployed our teams to focus on issues and create more awareness. They conducted birdwatching sessions in Pallikaranai, every Sunday till the lockdown came into effect. We also hosted seminars in Payilagam and Velachery. Birder Aravind was our instructor. Due to the Covid-19 situation, we conducted online webinars for MDT Hindu college students in Tirunelveli. My collegemate K Mohammed Yusuf Zaheer even teaches children how to draw the birds they spot.
How will the book help the cause, do you think?
Our thoughts and information is printed in a colourful, children- friendly manner, and not in a book format. In general, children like animals, especially elephants. They like to have elephant rides even on their family members’ back. So, we feel this book will fulfil our goal easily. We have added interesting facts like noisy elephants communicate in low decibels up to a 5-km radius, which humans can’t even hear.
How long did it take for you to compile the book?
It took about two weeks. Apart from our knowledge, we have also coordinated with other experts like wildlife activist TS Subramanya Rajah, veterinarian Dr Kalaivannan, biologist Arumugam, wildlife activist Boominathan & Salem Murugesan. We even referred to books like Right Of Passage: Elephant Corridors Of India and Asian Elephants (Tamil), for information.
A lot of elephant deaths are being reported on the Western Ghats due to human invasion into their habitat. What kind of threat does this pose for both humans and animals?
Many small animals depend on elephants. The elephant is a keystone species. We have to talk more about its conservation and urge the government to take more steps in avoiding encroachments. Eco-tourism should be limited. If we create more eco-tourism centres, wildlife will be disturbed by people who are quick to spoil nature.
In the backdrop of the Draft EIA, it’s more significant now than before to conserve our wildlife. Do you agree?
Any law by any government that compromises environmental health cannot be tolerated at any cost. The focus should be on the environment, especially the forests. Public awareness is better now. But student awareness is much needed and this can be achieved through school syllabus.
What effects do you think the National Education Policy, will have on the environmental knowledge of future generations?
It needs to be scrapped and can’t be accepted. The education system should be under the state government control and not with the Centre. Teaching elephants to Kashmiris, sea erosion to Biharis, paddy to Punjabis doesn’t have any value. Students should know their local environmental issues better, and then learn other things.
Watch out!
The book will be launched
today on
World Elephant Day.
It is free of cost and currently available in Tamil. The English version will be out soon. If you need a copy, fill out the Google form https://forms.gle/gBCjg9MDvN9UD9X38