New park to relocate elephants
30 Jun 09
An Indian state is planning to open a sanctuary to relocate elephants battling human beings due to the loss of their habitats.
The forest department in the state of Karnataka hopes to move the animals to a 700-acre area on the periphery of the Bandipur National Park.
Officials have sent a proposal to India’s National Board for Wildlife for approval. The project will cost nearly £630,000 initially and will be the first of its kind in the country, they said.
B K Singh, the state’s principal chief conservator of forests, said: “Areas where elephants roam have shrunk, but the population of the animals has increased.
“As a result elephants come into conflict with the villagers in the nearby areas and destroy the sugarcane and jackfruit crops. To overcome this problem we want to open a park to rehabilitate elephants that we want to relocate from forests.”
However, conservationists say it is merely a short-term measure and that more needs to be done.
Praveen Bhargav, a managing trustee of Wildlife First, said: “Essentially, for the conservation of elephants in the long term, we must look at identifying and securing their habitats and elephant corridors.”
Copyright © Press Association 2009
http://www.karnatakaforest.gov.in/english/index.html (Karnataka Forest Department)
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