SHIVAMOGGA: In yet another incident of man-animal conflict, a three-year-old male elephant was electrocuted in a farmland near Emmedoddi village in Kadur taluk of Chikkamagaluru district in the intervening night between Thursday and Friday. Wildlife conservation activists have alleged that the encroachment of elephant corridors is resulting in such tragedies.
Sources in the forest department said that the elephant entered the agriculture field in search of food. The owner of the land has been absconding since the incident. Forest staff visited the spot. Sources said that a similar incident occurred in the nearby area last year too when another male elephant was electrocuted.
Wildlife conservation activist D V Gireesh told The New Indian Express that the man-animal conflict has become an unending issue due to the lack of commitment of the authorities. “The location where this elephant died lies between two reserve forests -- Kammanahalli and Churchegudda. Illegal settlers have been there for the last 50 years. Most of them are labourers in coffee estates. The area has been systematically encroached and more than half of the encroachers do not have a legal hold,” he said.
Gireesh said that the elephants that roam in the area are from Bhadra Wildlife Sanctuary. “These are the original elephant corridors for millions of years. But illegal settlers have encroached the corridor area. Due to the encroachment, the path has been cut off. There are farms on the elephant corridor. The conflict has intensified in the last 10 to 15 years. People are still settling here. Not only adjoining forests but even reserve forests are being encroached. These settlers have become successful in getting illegal electricity connections. Three elephants died in the last few years in this area itself. One man shot two elephants but he escaped. Forest officials failed to catch him,” he said.
Gireesh demanded that the government clear encroachments on the elephant corridor and take action against encroachers.