{"id":737,"date":"2018-09-02T08:20:58","date_gmt":"2018-09-02T08:20:58","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/threatenedtaxa.org\/jottings\/?p=737"},"modified":"2018-10-11T09:46:06","modified_gmt":"2018-10-11T09:46:06","slug":"crop-thieves-or-unassuming-beasts-local-opinions-on-wild-elephants-in-nilambur-kerala","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/threatenedtaxa.org\/jottings\/behaviour\/crop-thieves-or-unassuming-beasts-local-opinions-on-wild-elephants-in-nilambur-kerala\/","title":{"rendered":"Crop thieves or unassuming beasts? Local opinions on wild elephants in Nilambur, Kerala"},"content":{"rendered":"

Elephas maximus indicus<\/em>, the Indian Elephant, India\u2019s national heritage animal, is loved by all.\u00a0 Or is it?\u00a0 Villagers living along elephant reserves face difficulties when it comes to elephants.\u00a0 Hungry elephants might steal their crops or accidentally wreck their property.\u00a0 So what do people actually think of the Indian Elephant?\u00a0 These opinions matter because the Indian Elephant is classified as Endangered, and people\u2019s attitudes will help us understand the best way to conserve them.<\/p>\n

Who did they ask?<\/h2>\n

Nilambur Elephant Reserve is located in Kerala\u2019s Western Ghats, a biodiversity hotspot.\u00a0 The researchers randomly selected 510 people from 17 villages close to the reserve.\u00a0 These villagers were asked questions such as: what kind of elephant-caused issues are you facing? which is the most serious one? and, is it necessary to protect elephants and the forest?<\/p>\n

Human-elephant interaction<\/h2>\n
\"Herd

Image 1. A herd of Asian Elephants<\/p><\/div>\n

Human-elephant interaction is as widespread as the various elephant species themselves.<\/p>\n

The biggest complaint against elephants all over the world is crop damage.\u00a0 The villagers said that elephants preferred the crops jackfruit, plantain, coconut, and areca nut (betel nut), which has led to some farmers having to stop growing these crops.<\/p>\n

The injury caused by elephants is very rare, as less than 5% of villagers had reported it.\u00a0 Many villagers, however, said it was a very serious issue.<\/p>\n

Possibly resulting from elephant-caused injury, the most reported issue was fear of elephants and restriction of movement.\u00a0 \u00a0Despite its prevalence, this issue was thought of as the least serious.<\/p>\n

Although not common, a significant portion of villagers stated that they had experienced property damage caused by elephants, mainly to water pipelines, but also to water wells, fences, gates, and water tanks.\u00a0 In contrast to this, a separate study conducted in Nepal found that property damage was the most common issue.<\/p>\n

Saving the elephants<\/h2>\n

Even though the relationship between elephants and humans is often fraught with problems, villagers agree that elephant conservation is a good cause.\u00a0 Their main reason was that the elephants have a right to live, just like we do.\u00a0 They also appreciated the conservation of the forest ecosystem because it significantly affects their way of life.\u00a0 But, the overall attitude towards elephants remained equal parts positive and negative.<\/p>\n

Many of the villagers did not know the importance of elephants within the forest ecosystem.\u00a0 So, to improve conservation, we should educate everybody about how elephants carry out many key services within forest ecosystems.\u00a0 Learning about all the elephant does could reduce human-elephant interaction and let them thrive together for many years to come.<\/p>\n

What are people\u2019s thoughts on Asian Elephants in the southern Western Ghats?<\/h2>\n