Journal of
Threatened Taxa | www.threatenedtaxa.org | 26 May 2018 | 10(6):
11710–11716
People’s attitude towards wild elephants, forest conservation and Human-Elephant conflict in Nilambur, southern Western Ghats of Kerala, India
C.K. Rohini 1,
T. Aravindan 2, K.S. Anoop Das 3 & P.A. Vinayan 4
1,2 Post Graduate Department of Zoology
and Research Centre, Sree NarayanaCollege, Thottada P.O., Kannur, Kerala 670007, India
3 Centre for Conservation Ecology,
Department of Zoology, M.E.S. Mampad College, Mampad College P.O., Malappuram,
Kerala 676542, India
3 Wildlife Research and Conservation Trust, Anupallavi, Chungathara P.O., Malappuram, Kerala 679334, India
4 PandancheryHouse, Vemom P.O., Mananthavady,Wayanad, Kerala 670645, India
1 rohinick4@gmail.com (corresponding
author), 2 atharemmal@yahoo.com, 3 dasksa@gmail.com, 4 pa.vinayan@gmail.com
Abstract: Conflict with elephants and subsequent
economic losses negatively affect residents’ tolerance towards wild elephants. It is
important to understand people’s attitude towards wildlife, especially Asian
Elephants with an endangered status. A questionnaire survey was undertaken with 510 forest fringe residents
of Nilambur North and South Forest Divisions, Kerala,
to understand residents’ attitudes towards elephant conservation and
Human-Elephant conflict. The
majority of the villagers experienced psychological
stress and fear associated with movement restriction and chances of encounters
with elephants. Crop damage was
perceived as the most serious issue, followed by injury or death by encounters
with elephants. Elephants show a
higher preference for raiding Jackfruit and Plantain than other crops. The conflict was caused more frequently
by solitary elephants than by elephant herds. Elephants were mainly found near farm
areas during late night (22:00–02:00 hr) and
early night (20:00–22:00 hr). More than half of the residents were in favour of forest conservation owing to its ecological
value. One-fourth of the
respondents favoured forest conservation due to its
extraction benefits such as collection of fuel wood and cattle grazing. Almost equal proportions of people have
positive and negative attitudes towards elephants. In such instances, the possibility for a
drastic shift towards negative attitudes following spontaneous elephant
conflict events can be expected. Ecological awareness, interaction among stakeholders, and participatory
maintenance of mitigation methods will possibly reduce conflict and contribute
towards the coexistence of people and elephants in this human-dominated
landscape.
Keywords: Attitude, conservation, crop
damage, Elephant conflict, Kerala, Nilambur, Western
Ghats.
doi: http://doi.org/10.11609/jott.3487.10.6.11710-11716
Editor: Heidi S. Riddle, Riddle’s
Elephant and Wildlife Sanctuary, Arkansas, USA. Date of
publication: 26 May 2018 (online & print)
Manuscript details: Ms # 3487 |
Received 12 May 2017 | Final received 07 May 2018 | Finally accepted 12 May
2018
Citation: Rohini, C.K., T. Aravindan,
K.S.A. Das & P.A. Vinayan (2018). People’s attitude towards wild
elephants, forest conservation and Human-Elephant
conflict in Nilambur, southern Western Ghats of
Kerala, India. Journal of Threatened
Taxa 10(6): 11710–11716; http://doi.org/10.11609/jott.3487.10.6.11710-11716
Copyright: © Rohini et al. 2018. Creative Commons Attribution 4.0
International License. JoTT allows
unrestricted use of this article in any medium, reproduction and distribution
by providing adequate credit to the authors and the source of publication.
Funding: Kerala State Council for
Science, Technology and Environment (KSCSTE), Government of Kerala.
Competing interests: The author declares no competing interests.
Author Contribution: The first and fourth
authors designed the study, the first author conducted
the field work and carried out the scientific writing, while the other authors
supervised her research work.
Author Details: C.K. Rohini, PhD Scholar, Sree NarayanaCollege. She is in-terested in socio-ecological issues, man-agement of wildlife conflict and participa-tory
approach towards conservation. Dr. Aravindan Tharemmal, Associate Profes-sor& Head (Retd), Sree Narayana College. He is interested in ecological as well as molecular studies. He has also headed Department of
Molecular Biology, Kannur University. Dr. K.S. Anoop Dasis a faculty at M.E.S Mampad College and a visiting
professor at the Leshan Normal Univer-sity,
China. He has a PhD degree in orni-thology and interested on the responses of
butterflies, insect fauna of natural tree holes, evaluation of ecosystem
services and climate change effects on bird and butterfly communities. P.A.Vinayan, Project Officer at WWF-India, Western
Ghats Nilgiri Landscape. His work involves radio collaring and
monitoring of conflict causing elephants, monitoring human-elephant conflict inWayanad District. His area of interest is conservation
education, eco restoration, elephant conservation, theimpact of habitat fragmentation on con-flict, birds,
butterflies and other insects.
Acknowledgements: Kerala State Council for Science, Technology and Environment (KSCSTE),
Thiruvananthapuram, Govt. of Kerala, is acknowledged for the financial
support. The authors extend their
gratitude to the principal, faculty and researchers of Zoology Department of Sree Narayana College, and MES Mampad College for their support. RCK acknowledge Kannur University for providing the opportunity to
conduct this research work. We
thank Dr. Amruth. M, KFRI, Peechi for his inputs. Sincere thanks to Dr. Ashok Kumar M and Dr. Sunanda of Kerala Veterinary and Animal Sciences University, Pookode, for the valuable statistical inputs. Many
thanks to Mr. Ramith M, Project Officer, WTI, India and Mr. Sony R.K of ATREE who assisted in developing the work. RCK thank Parvathy, Shadiya, Javed and Favaz who assisted in the field during the survey. We also thank the staff of the forest
department, Nilambur North and South Forest Divisions and all villagers for their support
throughout our work. We acknowledge DST – FIST (Govt. of India) for setting up the research
laboratory.
INTRODUCTION
Elephant invasion into human habitations affects
people at different levels, causing economic, social, cultural, and psychological
impacts. For the long
term integrity of conservation areas, support from local residents is
essential (Struhsaker et al. 2005). Efforts to ensure wildlife conservation
will fail unless residents’ concerns are resolved (Conover 2002). The assessment of people’s attitudes and
perceptions towards conservation has become an important aspect in many studies
of wildlife conservation (Newmark et al. 1993).
Human-Wildlife
conflict (HWC) is often a manifestation of underlying Human-Human conflict
(HHC) such as between authorities and local people who are in the midst of
Human-Wildlife interactions (Hart & O’Connell 2000; Dickman2010). The endangered status of
elephants and the huge damage caused per conflict incident adds to the
significance of HHC management, particularly in the case of elephant
conflict. People who are victims of
elephant conflict increasingly perceive elephants as agricultural pests, and
this threatens their survival (Fernando et al. 2005). Whether farmers regard a species that causes
damages as problematic or acceptable is determined by cultural differences in
perceptions towards the particular species (Fernando et al. 2005). As the cultural and ecological factors
vary worldwide this information is likely to be site-specific. It has been recognized that major
challenges in the management of human-elephant conflict (HEC) are greatly
influenced by the human component (Hart & O’Connell 2000).
The increasing
political interest as well as media coverage of elephant related issues is higher when compared to other wildlife
species. This demands studies on
elephant conflict from the people’s point of view. The knowledge of people’s attitudes is
useful for developing awareness programs that specifically target
misconceptions that people hold towards wildlife and conservation
initiatives. Moreover, it can make
people aware of the current status and ground level realities involved in
natural resource conservation (Lee 2004).
Wildlife
conservation issues are least addressed in areas outside protected areas (Macura et al. 2011). The Nilambur Forest Reserve forms a part of
the Western Ghats, home to the largest elephant population in Asia, and
experiences conflict of various degrees throughout the range but the local
issues are not well addressed here though there are few studies on other aspect
of HEC (Rohini et al. 2016, 2017). Hence an attempt was made to understand
people’s attitude in the North and South Forest Divisions of Nilambur, Kerala. The present study provides baseline information about people’s attitude
towards conservation issues, reveals people’s misconceptions, and thereby
enables suggested potential focus areas while formulating policies for
improving tolerance by means of participatory activities and environmental
education programs.
METHODS
This study was
conducted in the Nilambur forests
which form the Eastern sector of the MalappuramDistrict and include a major range in the southern Western Ghats, one of the
world’s biodiversity hotspots (Mittermeier et al.
2005). The NilamburForest Reserve is under the administration of the North and South Forest
Divisions and is part of the Nilgiri Biosphere
Reserve (NBR). Nilambur forests are part of Elephant
Reserve No. 8, the Nilambur Elephant Reserve, under
Project Elephant (Sukumar & Easa2006). The NilamburValley is popular for teak plantations and the area is home to the oldest teak
plantations in India.
The attitude
of people towards conservation issues was assessed by using an individual level
questionnaire survey from February to May, 2016. Questions were asked directly by the
first author to the forest fringe residents through interviews. The questionnaire survey was carried out
in 17 selected villages abutting the forest ranges of Vazikadavuand Karulai to assess the conservation attitude of
local people.
The whole area
sharing boundaries with Vazhikadavu and Karulai forest ranges was divided into grids (0.5km x 0.5km). A buffer of one kilometer in length was
given to the forest, and then all the grids touching the buffer within the
study villages were selected. From
each grid, located close to the forest boundary, five houses were selected to
conduct the survey. The survey
included both open ended and close ended questions
(Appendix 1).
The
questionnaire sought detailed information on the extent of elephant conflict,
the most serious issue of conflict, pattern of conflict, attitude towards
forest conservation and elephant conservation. A total of 510 residents in 17 forest
fringe villages were interviewed. People’s responses were assessed by percentage analysis.
RESULTS
Extent of conflict
The majority
of the residents (42.5%) experienced psychological stress associated with
conflict, such as free movement restriction and fear associated with frequent
encounters with elephants. Crop
damage was experienced by 28.7% of respondents, and property damage by 15.1%. Incidents of injury by an encounter with
elephants were reported by 4.8% of respondents. There were no issues experienced due to
conflict with elephants for 8.9% of respondents. Significantly more people suffer fear and
stress due to elephants followed by crop damage (Fig 1).
Most serious issue of elephant conflict
Crop damage
was perceived by respondents as the most serious issue (47.66%) followed by
injury or death by an encounter with elephants (38.48%). Fear and restriction of free movement
due to the presence of elephants were mentioned as the most serious issues only
by 7.55% of respondents. Fewer
respondents mentioned the damage caused by elephants to properties as the most
important problem (6.29%). Significantly
more people perceived crop damage as the most serious issue of elephant
conflict, followed by injury by elephant attack (Fig. 1).
Pattern of conflict
Elephants showeda higher preference for raiding jackfruit (43.85%), followed by plantain
(37.4%), coconut (32.1%), arecanut (22.3%), rubber
saplings (1.96%), and other crops such as paddy, pineapple, teak (0.78%);
however, 6.6% of respondents perceived that there is no crop preference of
elephants when they raid. A few of
the residents were not aware of elephant preferred crops (1.56%). The majority of the respondents observed
a significantly higher preference for jackfruit followed by plantain (Fig. 2).
The conflict
caused by solitary elephants was observed by 42% of respondents, and 33.13% of
respondents reported it was caused by elephant herds. Both solitary elephants and elephant herds
caused conflict (24.31%). Less than
1% of respondents were unaware of the number of elephants causing the
conflict. Significantly higher crop raiding was observed by solitary elephants than
the elephant herd. Elephant herd with 3–6 individuals were sighted by more
respondents. The sighting of
large elephant herd was comparatively less (Fig. 3).
More than half
of the residents (52.7%) reported that elephants were found more during late
night (22:00–02:00 hr), 27.6% of respondents
reported elephants mainly in early night (20:00–22:00 hr),
11.37% of respondents reported their presence in evening (17:00–19:00 hr), and 6.86% of respondents stated that the conflict was
higher during dawn (04:00–05:00 hr). Less than one percent of people observed
that conflict occurred in the day time.
Attitude towards conservation of the forest
reserve
The majority
of the respondents (87.52%) were in favour of
conservation of forests, whereas 11.87% did not favourconservation, and very few people (0.60%) had neutral responses regarding
forest conservation. More than half
of the residents (64.1%) appreciated the conservation of forest ecosystems due
to an awareness of its ecological values, i.e., the forest provides a healthy
environment, good climate, rain and pure water which are essential for the
existence of humans. About
one-fourth of the respondents (25.6%) felt that forest conservation is
essential due to the extraction benefits, i.e., collection of fuel wood, cattle
grazing, and extraction of bamboo for making fences. Fewer respondents (7.02%) appreciated
the aesthetic value and mentioned that the forest area is nice to look at as it
is beautiful with greenery all around and hence it must be conserved. Very few people (3.2%) stated that it is
important to protect forests for the survival of wildlife (Fig. 4). Negative attitudes towards forest
conservation were associated with the economic loss and stress experienced by
wildlife conflict.
Elephant conservation attitude
About half of
the respondents had a positive attitude towards elephants, were 54.75% in favor of elephant
conservation and 45.24% of the total respondents opposed the same. Of those who supported elephant
conservation, 67.6% expressed compassion towards elephants, and felt they had a
right to live in the wild, and 14.4% considered elephants a property of the
forest. About 7% of respondents
regarded elephants as an asset of the nation and regarded them as public
property to be conserved, whereas 5.5% of respondents regarded elephants as
deity and appreciated their presence in the forest. Few respondents were reluctant to
mention anything bad against elephants as it was as a sin to mention anything bad
against elephants, according to their religious views. According to 3.38% people, ensuring the
conservation of elephants in the wild will reduce the level of conflict. It was associated with the perception
that elephant conflict is an outcome of habitat disturbance and human activity. Only a few respondents regarded elephant
conservation as important as it will promote income generation through tourism
activities (1.27%), and elephants can be captured and used for human purposes
(0.84%) (Fig. 5). The dislike towards conservation is attributed to conflict incidences
and associated economic and social impact.
Discussion
The majority of
the surveyed residents experienced difficulties associated with elephant
conflict. Lack of safety, fear or
stress due to the presence of elephants near people’s residences, fear to go
outside the house from early night, and lack of sleep due to the notion of
danger by elephant attacks were the most common problems due to conflict. Occasionally, the fear of elephant conflict
has badly affected the health of residents leading to medical conditions such
as hypertension. Sutton (1998), in
his studies in Africa, found that the costs of elephant damage include
psychological stress from anticipating nocturnal raiders and alteration in the
daily working schedule. During the
study, it was observed that fear persisted in a fringe village after the loss
of life of a tribal woman by elephant attack, and, following this incident
people did not cooperate with the forest department even to extinguish a forest
fire near their houses. This was
similar to the result from studies by Ngure (1995)
and Wilson et al. (2013) that the rapid circulation of news about injury or
death due to elephant attack generates fear among people and this will
negatively affect the local support for elephant conservation.
Crop
depredation by elephants has been identified as the most critical HEC issue in
India (Sukumar & Gadgil1988) and also in Africa (Sitati 2003; Stephenson
2004). In this study, though crop
damage was experienced by nearly one-third of respondents, it was perceived as
the most serious issue of elephant conflict by nearly half of the residents.
Although injury
by an elephant encounter was very rare, it was regarded as the second most
serious issue of elephant conflict after crop damage, followed by fear and
restriction of movement, and property damage. Fear associated with the presence of
elephants and restriction of free movement was the least serious form of
conflict, though it has been the most frequently experienced form of conflict. Damage to property by elephants was
reported by a few of the respondents. Recurrent damage to water pipelines was the most common issue of
property damage. Apart from this,
damage to water tanks, wells, water pump sets, gates and fences were observed. In contrary to the present study,
property damage was found as the most common type of damage around Chitwan National Park and ParsaWildlife Reserve in Nepal, where crop damages were found to be much less (Pant
et al. 2015).
In the current
study, the most attractive crops for elephants include jackfruit, followed by
plantain, coconut, and arecanut trees. Several villagers chopped off jack trees
from their courtyards due to fear of elephants coming near their houses during
the jackfruit season. Villagers
perceived that the rubber saplings were attractive to elephants due to the
frequent incidence of massive damage to rubber saplings in some regions. Other elephant-preferred crops include
pineapple, paddy, and teak, but the cultivation of these was comparatively less
in fringe areas. A few of the
respondents argued that none of the crops attract elephants. These responses may be out of suspicion
that following specification of particular preferential crops by villagers, the
authorities will discourage the cultivation to manage conflict. More individual elephants were involved
in conflict incidents than elephant herds. This may signify the presence of habituated crop raiders in this area as
observed in other studies (Sukumar 1990; Easa & Sankar 1999; Das et
al. 2012). Whenever an elephant
herd was involved in crop damage, it was as a small group mostly ranging from
2–5 individuals; however, larger elephant group size was also found
occasionally in the area. Generally, elephants entered the farms only after sunset and left before
sunrise. The same pattern was
observed with a higher percentage of respondents mentioning that crop damage
was higher at late night followed by early night. Other studies have shown that crop
raiding by elephants is almost exclusively a nocturnal activity (Bell 1984; Thouless 1994; Hoare 1995). Where elephants are exceptionally bold,
crepuscular raiding activity may be encountered (Hoare 1999).
In the midst of
conflict-related issues, the majority of the people living around the Forest
Reserve had a positive attitude towards forest conservation, similar to studies
by Newmark et al. (1993) and DeBoer & Banguetem(1998). Residents appreciated the
conservation of forest ecosystems as it provides water, and sustains a healthy
environment and good climate. The
role of non-economic values in maintaining people’s relationship with the
conservation areas was significant here and similar to studies by Raval (1994) and Kuriyan(2002). According to studies by
Infield (2001), the non-economic values play a critical role in long-term
conservation of forests. The
extraction benefits obtained from the forest reserve certainly have a crucial
role in building the attitude towards conservation. It was observed by
Kiss (1990) and Hill (1998) that a negative attitude towards conservation was
remarkable if people did not receive benefits, yet they bear the costs of
living with wildlife. Fewer
respondents mentioned aesthetic benefits as the reason for a favourable viewpoint towards forest conservation. People appreciated the aesthetic value andperceived that the area is beautiful as there is greenery all around. Very few respondents believed that the
conservation of forests was essential as it is the habitat of wild animals. People living near the forest reserve
may have positive (Badola 1998) or negative attitudes
(Walpole & Leader-Williams 2002) towards the conservation area. Balancing these trade-offs and
understanding factors that support positive attitudes is critical to long-term sustainability
of these places (Newmark et al. 1993).
Despite losses
due to the conflict in their daily life, more than half of the respondents in
this study expressed positive attitudes towards elephant conservation. In other regions people appreciate elephant
conservation in spite of their losses, including in Manas National Park, India (Nath et al. 2015), the Terai Arc
Landscape, India (Jasmine et al. 2015), and the Shew-U-Daung Wildlife Sanctuary, Myanmar (Allendorfet al. 2015). Negative attitudes towards
the elephants were formed due to direct or indirect impacts of HEC. In Africa, farmers who lost a crop to
elephants were more negative in the Maputo Elephant Reserve than non-victims
(de Boer & Baquete 1993). Apart from disliking wildlife, crop damage
has been given as the main reason for disliking protected areas in several
studies in Africa (Parry & Campbell 1992; Newmarket al. 1993). In the present study
it was also observed that people responded negatively towards forest
conservation due to conflict related losses and lack of economic benefits from
the forest.
A favorable
opinion towards elephants was mostly due to the sympathy of villagers towards
the elephants for their right to live in their own natural habitats. This signifies the cultural tolerance in
India, which ensures the continued coexistence between humans and wildlife (Karanth et al. 2009, 2010). Rural people value elephants in spite of
the frequent conflict and this was reflected through their ability to consider
the elephant as an integral part of the forest ecosystem. Similar studies in the Terai Arc Landscape of Uttarakhandindicate that local residents recognize the ecological value of elephants and
perceive that their presence indicates a healthy ecosystem (Jasmine et al. 2015).
Elephants
were regarded as important public assets by some respondents to emphasize its
conservation value. Positive
attitudes were also due to the belief that elephants were the manifestation of
God. Such beliefs can have a major
impact on elephant conservation universally (Santiapillaiet al. 2010). Only 5% of residents
around the Nilambur Forest Reserve perceived the
necessity of elephant conservation owing to religious values. According to a few respondents (3%),
ensuring the conservation of elephants within the forest will lead towards
reduced conflict. They emphasized
the lack of appropriate interventions to sustain elephant conservation within
the forest reserve.
There was no
significant difference in residents’ attitude towards elephant conservation.
Almost equal proportions of people had positive and negative attitudes towards
elephants. In such instances, the
possibilities for a drastic shift towards negative attitudes following
spontaneous elephant conflict events can be expected. Another study has shown that in such
instances, most local farmers would eliminate elephants from their environment
if given a choice (Hill 1998).
Local residents
living around forest areas were directly affected by the cost associated with
conservation initiatives. The
perceptions and attitudes of residents living near the forest areas will
ultimately make a difference to biodiversity conservation (Ninanet al. 2007). In the present study,
it was noted that people were largely unaware of the ecological importance of
elephants and the role in sustaining forest ecosystem, although they were aware
about the ecological importance of forests. Therefore, it is necessary to improve
conservation attitudes of people by making them aware of the ecosystem services
rendered by elephants such as seed dispersal, energy transfer in the food
chain, and ultimately in the existence of forest ecosystems. Ecological awareness, interaction among
stakeholders, and participatory maintenance of mitigation methods could reduce
conflict and contribute towards coexistence of people and elephants in this
human-dominated landscape.
Appendix 1. Study questionnaire
1. Have
you suffered any of the following issues due to wild elephants?
(Crop
damage, Property damage, Injury by elephant encounter, Stress or other
problems)
2. Of
the different issues, which is the most serious issue of elephant conflict?
(Crop
damage, Property damage, Injury by elephant encounter, Stress or other
problems)
3. Is
there any preference for crop raiding (Yes/No), which is the most preferred crop?
Arecanut, Coconut, Plantain, Jack Fruit, Others
4. How
many elephants were involved in crop raiding usually?
5. When
does crop raiding occur most frequently?
Early
night (20:00–22:00 hr)
Late
night (22:00–02:00 hr)
Dawn
(02:00–05:00 hr)
Day time (05:00–06:00 hr,
18:00–19:00 hr)
6. Is
it necessary to protect the forest? Yes/No/ other responses
If
yes, why do you feel this way?
(Ecological
values, Extraction benefits, Aesthetic values, Wildlife conservation, others)
If
no, why do you feel this way (Open ended)
7. Is
it necessary to protect the wild elephants? Yes/No/other responses
If
yes, why do you feel this way? (Right to live, for forest, Public property,
Religious value, others)
If no, why
do you feel this way (Open ended)
References
Allendorf, T., K.K. Swe, M.Aung, P. Leimgruber &
M. Songer (2015). Mitigating
human-elephant conflict near Shwe-U-Daung Wildlife Sanctuary, Myanmar. Gajah42: 22–29.
Badola, R. (1998). Attitudes of local people towards
conservation and alternatives to forest resources: a case study from the lower
Himalayas. Biodiversity and Conservation 7:
1245–1259.
Bell,
R.H.V. (1984). The
man-animal interface: an assessment of crop damage and wildlife control, pp.
387–416. In: Bell, R.H.V. & E. Mcshane-Caluzi(eds.). Conservation & Wildlife Management in Africa. US Peace Corps, Malawi.
Conover,
M.R. (2002). Resolving
Human-wildlife Conflicts. The Science of Wildlife
Damage Management. CRC Press, Lewis Publishers, New York.
Das,
J.P., B.P. Lahkar & B.K. Talukdar(2012).Increasing trend of human-elephant conflict in Golaghat District Assam, India: issues and concerns. Gajah 37: 34–37.
de Boer, W.F. & D.S. Baquete(1993). Natural
resource use, crop damage and attitudes of rural people in the vicinity of the
Maputo Elephant Reserve, Mozambique. Environmental
Conservation 25: 208–218.
Dickman, A.J. (2010). Complexities of conflict: the importance of
considering social factors for effectively resolving human-wildlife conflict. Animal
Conservation 13: 458–466;http://doi.org/10.1111/j.1469-1795.2010.00368
Easa, P.S. & S. Sankar(1999). Study on man-wildlife interaction in Wayanad Wildlife Sanctuary. Kerala KFRI
Research Report 166.
Fernando, P., E. Wikramanayake,
D. Weerakoon, L.K.A. Jayasinghe,
M. Gunawardene & H.K. Janaka(2005). Perceptions
and patterns of human-elephant conflict in old and new settlements in Sri
Lanka: Insights for mitigation and managements. Biodiversity and
Conservation 14: 2465–2481;http://doi.org/10.1007/s10531-004-0216-z
Hart, L.A. & C.E. O’Connell (2000). Human Conflict with
African and Asian Elephants and Associated Conservation Dilemmas.Center for Animals in Society in the School of Veterinary Medicine and Ecology,
University of California, Davis, USA.
Hill,
C. (1998). Conflicting
attitudes towards elephants around the Budongo Forest
Reserve, Uganda. Environmental Conservation 24:
244–250.
Hoare,
R.E. (1995). Options
for the control of elephants in conflict with people. Pachyderm 19:
54–63.
Hoare,
R.E. (1999). Determinants
of human-elephant conflict in a land-use mosaic. Journal
of Applied Ecology 36: 689–700.
Infield, M. (2001). Cultural values: a forgotten strategy for
building community support for protected areas in Africa. Conservation
Biology 15: 800–802; http://doi.org/10.1046/j.1523-1739.2001.015003800.x
Jasmine, B., D. Ghose& S.K. Das (2015). An attitude assessment of human-elephant conflict in a
critical wildlife corridor within the Terai Arc
Landscape, India. Journal of Threatened Taxa 7(2):
6843–4852; http://doi.org/10.11609/JoTT.o3914.6843-52
Karanth, K.K., J.D. Nichols, J.E. Hines, U.K. Karanth & L. Christensen (2009). Patterns and determinants of mammal species
occurrence in India. Journal
of Applied Ecology 46:1189–1200; http://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2664.2009.01710.x
Karanth, K.K., J.D. Nichols, U.K. Karanth, J.E. Hines & N.L. Christensen (2010). The shrinking ark: large mammal extinctions
in India. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London B277: 1971–1979.
Kiss, A. (1990). Living with Wildlife. Draft report of World
Bank Environment Division, The World Bank, and Washington, DC.
Kuriyan, R. (2002). Linking local perceptions of elephants and
conservation: Samburu pastoralists in northern Kenya.Society and Natural Resources 15: 949–957.
Lee,
P.C. (2004). Who wins? Human primate conflict in the context of conservation, development
and gender. Primate Eye 84: 15–16.
Macura, B., F. Zorondo-Rodriguez, M. Grau-satorras,
K. Demps, M. Laval, C.A. Garcia & V. Reyes-Garcia
(2011). Local community attitude towards forests outside protected areas in
India. Impact of legal awareness, trust, and participation. Ecology and Society 16: 10.
Mittermeier, R.A., R.P. Gil, M.Hoffman, J. Pilgrim, T. Brooks, C.G. Mittermeier,
J. Lamoreux & G.A.B. Fonseca (2005). Hotspots
Revisited: Earth’s Biologically Richest and Most Endangered Terrestrial Ecoregions. Published by Cimex,
Mexico.
Nath, N.K., B.P. Lahkar, S.K. Dutta & J.P. Das
(2015). Human elephant conflict around ManasNational Park, India: Local people’s attitudes, expectations and perceptions. Gajah 42: 15–21.
Newmark, W.D., N.L.
Leonard, H.I. Sariko & D.G. Gamassa(1993). Conservation attitudes of local people living
adjacent to five protected areas in Tanzania. Biological
Conservation 63: 177–183.
Ngure, N. (1995). People-elephant
conflict management in Tsavo, Kenya. Pachyderm 19: 20–25.
Ninan, K.N., S. Jyothis, P. Babu & V. Ramakrishnappa (2007). The Economics of
Biodiversity Conservation: Valuation in Tropical Forest Ecosystem. Earthscan, London.
Pant, G., M. Dhakal, M.N.B. Pradhan, F. Leverington & M. Hockings (2015). Nature and extent of
human–elephant Elephas maximusconflict in Central Nepal. Oryx 50: 724–731.
Parry, D. & B.
Campbell (1992). Attitudes of the rural communities
to animal wildlife and its utilization in Chobeenclave and Mababe Depression, Botswana. Environmental Conservation 3: 245–52.
Raval, S.R. (1994). Wheel of life:
perceptions and concerns of the resident peoples for GirNational Park in India. Society & Natural Resources7: 305–320.
Rohini, C.K., T. Aravindan, K.S.A. Das & P.A. Vinayan(2017). Status of conflict mitigation measures in Nilambur,
Western Ghats of Kerala, India. Journal of
Threatened Taxa 9(12): 11025–11032; http://doi.org/10.11609/jott.3465.9.12.11025-11032
Rohini, C.K., T. Aravindan, K.S.A. Das & P.A. Vinayan(2016). Patterns of Human-Wildlife Conflict and People’s
Perception towards Compensation Program in Nilambur,
southern Western Ghats, India. Conservation Science 4: 1–10
Santiapillai, C., S. Wijeyamohan, G. Bandara, R. Athurupana, N. Dissanayake &
B. Read (2010). An assessment of the human-elephant
conflict in Sri Lanka. Ceylon Journal of Science (Bio.Sci.) 39: 21–33.
Sitati, N. (2003). Human-Elephant conflict in Trans Mara District adjacent to Masai Mara National Reserve. PhDThesis.
University of Kent, Canterbury, UK.
Stephenson, P.J.
(2004). The future for elephants in Africa, pp.
133–136. In: Burgess, N., J. D’Amico Hales, E. Underwood, E. Dinerstein, D. Olson, I. Itoua,
J. Schipper, T. Ricketts & K. Newman (eds.). TerrestrialEcoregions of Africa and Madagascar: A Conservation
Assessment. Island Press, Washington, DC.
Struhsaker, T.T., P.J. Struhsaker & K. Siex (2005). Conserving Africa’s
rain forests: problems in protected areas and possible solutions. Biological Conservation 123: 45–54.
Sukumar, R. (1990). Ecology of Asian Elephants in south India. Feeding habits and
crop raiding patterns. Journal of Tropical Ecology 6: 33–53; http://doi.org/10.1017/S0266467400004004
Sukumar, R. & M. Gadgil (1988). Male-female
differences in foraging on crops by Asian elephants. Animal
Behaviour 36: 1233–1235.
Sukumar, R. & P.S. Easa (2006). Elephant
conservation in South India: issues and recommendations. Gajah25: 71–86.
Sutton, W. (1998). The costs of living with elephants in Namibia, pp. 57–71. In: Proceedings
from the Workshop on Cooperative Regional Wildlife Management in Southern
Africa. University of California, Davis, CA, USA.
Thouless, C. (1994). Conflict
between humans and elephants on private land in northern Kenya.Oryx 28: 119– 127; http://doi.org/10.1017/S0030605300028428
Walpole, M.J. &
N. Leader-Williams (2002). Tourism and flagship species
in conservation. Biodiversity and Conservation11: 543–547.
Wilson, S., T.E.
Davies, N. Hazarika & A. Zimmermann (2013). Understanding
spatial and temporal patterns of human–elephant conflict in Assam, India.Oryx 49: 140–149; http://doi.org/10.1017/S0030605313000513