NGO SAGE co-founder calls for long-term mitigation to minimise human-elephant conflict in eastern Maharashtra

Images captured by thermal drone/ Sourced photo

Thermal drones monitoring elephant herds in eastern Maharashtra obtained images of the animals sleeping. This is the second time the team has been able to monitor this behaviour.

Sagnik Sengupta, co-founder of Stripes and Green Earth (SAGE) Foundation, whose team has been tracking the elephants, told mid-day that the use of thermal drones has aided them immensely in tracking the herd's activity in the Vidarbha region.

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Sengupta said, "Tracking on the ground during the night is difficult. The drone aids us by providing live location and also capturing the movements of the herd. We were able to block them from moving towards villages. The thermal drones are helping us track and monitor the herd, but it is crucial to think of long-term mitigation plans or the human-animal conflict will only intensify in Vidarbha."

Elucidating further on the animal's sleeping pattern, he said that elephants usually nap for just two to three hours during the day. "This is the second time we have captured the herd napping during the night, normally they sleep during the day. Previously, we captured two to three elephants sleeping but on Saturday night we found almost nine of them sleeping peacefully. It is a sign that they are feeling secure in the area." added Sengupta.

Sengupta said that elephants are long migratory species and that one tusker had already ventured into Brahmapuri and another herd in Bhandara. Given the pace of their migration, he said it was high time mitigation plans were formulated to restrict the elephants in Gadchiroli and Gondia districts.

In October 2021, a herd of elephants entered the state's Gadchiroli district from Chhattisgarh. While the elephants went back to Chhattisgarh in March 2022, they returned to Gadchiroli in August 2022 and since then have been here in Maharashtra. It is being said that the disturbance and habitat loss due to large-scale coal and iron ore mining in Chhattisgarh might be the reason for the herd to enter Maharashtra.

It is being speculated that the availability of the water bodies including the ponds, lakes and the abundance of food in forests of Gadchiroli, Gondia and Navegaon areas of eastern Maharashtra is seemingly the reason behind the giants flocking to the region.