The High Court of Kerala directed the state Government to submit its suggestions with respect to translocation of Arikomban. In this article, we explore the reasons behind ‘Mission Arikomban’, the problems caused by it and the observations made by the High Court. This topic is relevant for the IAS exam with respect to GS-3.
Mission Arikomban:
- A month ago, Arikomban, the “rice tusker,” was sighted in the Periyakanal plantations located in the Idukki district.
- The Kerala High Court (HC) instructed the state government to relocate the tusker and gave them a week to find a forested area far from human settlements. Otherwise, the tusker would have to be moved to Parambikulam.
- The Kerala government filed an appeal in the Supreme Court against the HC order, which was later rejected.
- Recently, the HC ordered the state to provide its suggestions for alternative relocation sites to the court-appointed expert committee that had previously recommended the translocation of Arikomban, in a sealed cover.
Observations made by the High Court:
- The HigC court has rejected local people’s apprehensions about having the translocated elephant in their midst, stating that they have no right to decide on the nature of animals that must be housed within the tiger reserve.
- A translocated animal is one that has been moved from its original habitat to a new one.
- The court rebuked the disregard for the well-being of the elephant and expressed astonishment at the lack of compassion demonstrated towards the animal.
- The court has also stated that the availability of natural food and water resources in the reserve would deter Arikomban from foraging in human settlements.
- Forest and wildlife officials will monitor the movements of the elephant by radio-collaring it. There is no evidence to suggest that Arikomban would exhibit any aggressive behavior towards humans.
Debatable observations:
- Natural food: Records show that despite the presence of “natural food,” elephants may still invade cultivated crops.
- Radio collar: The continuous use of a radio collar causes its battery to deplete quickly, and this will require frequent collar replacements.
- As a result, it is only possible to track the location of an animal every hour, which leaves enough time for a male elephant to unexpectedly wander within a 5-10 km range.
- It is observed that the relocation of the problematic elephants results in a displacement of the associated conflict.
- A more effective approach would be to transform it to a ‘kunki’ (an elephant trained for capturing wild elephants).
- Studies have found that the translocation caused wider propagation and intensification of human-elephant conflict, and increased elephant mortality.
Likelihood and Lessons:
- Lessons learned
- Female and young male elephants form groups while adult males are solitary, except for “boy clubs” with less mature bulls.
- Adult males are more likely to raid crops and can become aggressive, but very few actually attack humans.
- When a few problematic elephants cause issues for local communities, it can undermine the goodwill that people have towards the species as a whole.
- This goodwill is vital for ensuring that communities continue to support efforts to protect and conserve elephant populations.
- To address problematic elephants, the Wildlife Protection Act grants the chief wildlife warden the power to take appropriate measures. This is necessary to protect both the elephants and the communities they interact with.
- HC appointed expert committee:
- The committee recommended moving the problematic male elephant to Parambikulam Tiger Reserve to reduce human-wildlife conflict and gradually modify its behavior.
- In situations where both human safety and the safety of an animal are at risk, relying solely on predictions may not be enough.
- Lessons learned from past experiences should be considered in order to prioritize the safety of all involved.
Mission Arikomban [UPSC Current Affairs]:- Download PDF Here
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