TIRUPATI: Villagers living on the fringes of forests in Chittoor district are living in dread of visitations by elephants. Pachyderms have made innumerable forays into human habitations in recent months. Just last week, on August 8, a herd of 11 ran riot in Pulicherla and Yerravaripalem mandals, laying vast swathes of sugarcane and paddy fields waste. The herd began its binge in a sugarcane field in Kommireddygaripalle village in Pulicherla mandal, laid waste to a mango orchard, stomped over some paddy fields, frolicked in a tank near KK Peta village before moving back into the Talakona forest. All the villagers could do was to run for cover for the elephant is a formidable animal to shoo away. It was the ninth foray by elephants into human habitations in the region in recent months.The invasions are not only damaging to farmers, but occasionally to the elephants themselves. Last month, during an incursion into Chinna Gottigallu mandal, a pregnant cow fell into a well and died. The body was winched out by foresters next day. Elephant forays are quite common in Chittor district, which has border with Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. The Kuppam and Palamaner areas lie on the corridor of elephant migration from forests in Karnataka and Tamil Nadu.Foresters refuse to the blame the elephants for the destruction. Sathivel Reddy of the Sri Venkateshwara University (SVU), who is the coordinator of the Chittoor District Environment Centre, says deforestation has resulted in a loss of elephant habitat, forcing them to venture into human habitations. Another major reason for the spurt in elephant incursions is the effective control of poaching in Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. This has led to an increase in their numbers. With food not readily available, they make for farmland.Dr M Rajasekhar, assistant professor of zoology at SVU, says that until about 200 years ago, elephants used to be scarce in Chittoor district. They were limited to the Dharmagiri and Hosur regions of Karnataka where forests were dense. With forests there being cleared for hundreds of brick kilns, elephants began to seek newer habitats. The Koundanya forest in the Palamaner region of Chittoor district proved to be a good alternative and Palamaner came to be a transit point for elephants doing the to and from between forests in Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. With depletion of forests, they started looking to other areas. Some ventured into the Seshachalam forests through the Sadum and Piler areas but that forest was not ideal for elephants. “They only migrate to Seshachalam regions when the watering holes in the other regions dry up,’’ explains Dr Rajasekhar.He reasons that the narrowing of the corridor of migration has set up an elephant-human conflict in Chittoor district. He disagrees with the argument that elephants numbers are on the increase and says that recent research and figures from recent censuses have shown that nothing of the sort has happened.Drying up of watering holes in the forests is a major factor in elephant migrations, experts say. “Failure of monsoons leads to drying up of water sources and elephants migrate. Recent sightings of elephants in Chittoor can be attributed to this reason,’’ says Tirupati Wild Life Management circle chief conservator Chalapati Rao.But due to the destruction of human property during elephant forays, pressure is building on the forest department to curb it. Forest officials are contemplating different ways and means to achieve this, including solar fencing. But it is arguable how effective these steps will be to solve the basic problem of human-animal conflict. Experts argue that the only way to solve the problem is stop denudation of forests.
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