CHAPTER I
GENERAL INTRODUCTION
1.1 Introduction
The Asian elephant is one of the last few megaherbivores (i.e. those plant-eating
mammals that reach an adult body weight in excess of 1,000kg) still extant on earth and are
the largest mammalian herbivores (Owen-Smith, Op. cit).
The Asian elephant is also one of the world's most important charismatic 'flagship'
species. It is also known as a 'Keystone' species in Africa, to emphasize the vital role it plays
in the structuring of natural ground communities in Africa (Dublin et al., 1997). Sukumar
(1996) also described Asian elephant as a keystone species across the biologically rich
forests of tropical Asia, which has dominated the social, economic and political life of
people as has no other creature on this earth. Thus the conservation of the elephant will
ensure the maintenance of biological diversity across a much larger area.
The Asian elephant has been placed under the important conservation category for
giving emphasis on its conservation across the globe. The Wildlife (Protection) Act of 1972
(WPA-1972), which superseded all other wildlife legislation in the country, initially
including the elephant under Schedule-II of the Act. This implied that elephant was 'Special
Game' which could be killed or captured on the basis of a license issued by the Chief
Wildlife Warden (CWLW) of the State or any other authorized officer (Bist, 2006).. The
trade in ivory continued to be outside legal control. The recognition that the Asian elephant
was an endangered species and needed special protection, came after the inclusion of this
species in Appendix I of CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species
of Wild Fauna and Flora) in 1975 and the formation of the IUCN/SSC Asian Elephant
Specialist Group in 1976. Consequently, the elephant was transferred to Schedule I of the
WPA, 1972 on 5 October, 1977 (Bist, Op. cit.). This implied a ban on hunting and capturing
of elephants except for some specified purpose (Bist, Op. cit.). The Forest (Conservation)
Act of 1980 (FCA-1980), brought the process of deforestation of elephant habitats under
control. As a result of the revision in the Import-Export Policy of Government of India in
1978, 1987 and 1990 and amendments to the WPA-1972 in 1986 and 1991, the domestic
and international trade in ivory was totally prohibited, thereby plugging a major legal
loophole in the protection of elephants (Bist, 2006).
There are several historical records, such as the Kautilya Arthasastra, that indicate
legal protection for elephants by rulers of the sub-continent about 2,000 years back
(Rangarajan, 1992). In more recent times, efforts for the conservation of the elephant in
British India were initiated with the promulgation of the Madras Wild Elephant Preservation
Act of 1873. Soon after, the Indian Government enacted the Elephant Preservation Act
1879, which applied to the entire country (Bist, 2006). This Act, along with the Indian
Forest Act of 1927 (IFA-1927) and certain other State Acts, remained a major legal tool for
protecting elephants in most parts of the country until 1972. But, all these Acts were quite
liberal as regards capturing of elephants and permitted their killing under the pretext of
protecting crops and public property. Ivory trade was kept outside the purview of law and
there was no serious attempt to protect the habitat of elephants. As a result, the elephant
population in the country continued to decline over the years.
About 6,000 years ago, at the dawn of human civilization, the Asian elephant
(Elephas maximus) enjoyed a much wider geographic distribution and higher numbers than
it does today. During that period, its range was extended from Mesopotamia in the west
across the Indian subcontinent to Southeast Asia and China, as far north at least as the
Yangtze-Kian (Santiapillai and Sukumar, 2006). Today as indicated in the map, the Asian
elephant is distributed discontinuously in India, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh, Myanmar,
Thailand, Peninsular Malaysia, Sabah (Malaysian part of Borneo), Kalimantan (Indonesian
Part of Borneo), Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam, south-eastern China and the island of Sumatra
(Indonesia) and Sri Lanka (Santiapillai and Jackson,1990; Kemf and Santiapillai, 2000). A
small feral population occurs in the Andaman Islands (India).
Dorji (1997) has spotted elephants in areas as high up as 2,700 meters at Show-gayla, above Gedu and between 8-15 elephants were regularly seen during that time below
Gedu at an altitude of 2,300 meter above sea level. Katugaha et al. (1999) described that
Asian elephant was once widely distributed across much of Sri Lanka from sea level to
altitude of over 2000m.
The elephant is an apex species and has high interaction with its habitat, particularly
in its quest for food to influence the direction of development of its biotic environment. It
has been one of the causes for the process of ecosystem change.
The elephant has always been considered as an embodiment of strength, size and
intelligence. It has been looked upon with mixed feelings of love, worship and fear. The
human culture in elephant range countries is so clearly associated with the elephant that it
was the subject of a number of classical works of literature (Easa, 2005). The elephants, like
other wildlife have lost so much of their former habitat, that they are often forced to invade
the communities that have displaced them (Caufield, 1984).
1.2 Taxonomy
The taxonomical study of the Asian elephant has started since the latter half of the
th
18 century. The foundation of the Asian elephant taxonomic classification was laid by the
Linnaeus (1758). The Asian elephant presently has four subspecies viz. Elephas m.
maximus, Elephas m. indicus, Elephas m. sumatranus and Elephas m. borneensis. The
taxonomy of Asian elephant is as followsKingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Proboscidea
Family: Elephantidae
Subfamily:Elephantinae
Genus: Elephas
Species: maximus (Asian elephant)
Subspecies: Elephas m. maximus (Sri Lankan Asian elephant)
Subspecies: Elephas m. indicus (Mainland Asian elephant/India and
Indochina)
Subspecies: Elephas m. sumatranus (Sumatran Asian elephant)
Subspecies: Elephas m. borneensis (Borneo Pygmy elephant)
Until recently, four subspecies of the Asian elephant were recognized by zoologist as
valid: Elephas maximus maximus from Sri Lanka, Elephas maximus indicus from the Asian
mainland, Elephas maximus sumatranus from the island of Sumatra (Indonesia) (Santiapillai
and Sukumar, 2006) and Elephas maximus borneensis from Borneo (Fernando et al., 2003).
From our present understanding of the molecular genetics of Asian elephants though, there
is no support for the subspecies status of the Sri Lankan elephant population (Elephas
maximus maximus) and its differentiation from those in the Asian mainland (Elephas
maximus indicus) (Fernando et al., 2000; Sukumar, 2003). However, DNA analysis carried
out by Fernando et al. (2003) indicates that elephants in Borneo, on the basis of their genetic
distinctiveness and evolutionary history constitute a separate subspecies, Elephas maximus
borneensis, thereby extending the natural range of the Asian elephant by1, 300 km. More
recent studies of elephant genetics (Fernando et al., 2000, 2003; Vidya et al., 2003) are
beginning to provide a much better understanding of the evolutionary history and population
genetic structure of the species across its range, such information provides a firmer basis for
conservation priorities and management decisions.
But, all the subspecies population found in different parts of world are under the
threat from habitat destruction, habitat alteration, habitat shrinkage, habitat fragmentation,
poaching, human elephant conflict in its all present ranges.
1.3 Evolution of the Asian elephant
The direct ancestors of Asian and African elephants appeared about five million
years ago in Africa. They evolved from an animal, about the size of a large pig, named
Moeritherium, whose 50 million-year-old remains have been found near Fayyum, in Egypt
(Kemf and Jackson, 1995). Moeritherium had no trunk, but its descendants evolved into
more than 30 species trunked animals, all long extinct (Kemf and Jackson, Op. cit.). Some
of them were much larger than today’s elephant and they lived in north and South America
as well as Africa and Asia (Kemf and Jackson, Op. cit.).
The Asian elephant evolved from a form in Africa called Primelephas. The family
grew to more than 20 species, including mammoths, which spread into Eurasia and to
Americas (Kemf and Jackson, Op. cit.). Mammoths were closely related to living elephants
especially to the Asian elephants. One of the best known was the wooly mammoth, which
was about the same height as the average Asian elephant-3meter at the shoulder. It was
widely depicted in Stone Age cave paintings dating back 20,000 years and deep-frozen
carcasses have been uncovered in Siberia, complete with woolly hair and stomach contents.
1.4 Difference between Asian elephant and African elephant
The Asian elephant is smaller than the African elephants and has the highest body
point at the head against at the shoulder. The ears of Asian elephant are smaller, the tip of
the trunk has one finger-like process instead of two and 20 pairs of ribs and 34 caudal
vertebrae (Sikes, 1971) instead of 21 and 33 respectively (Shoshani and Eisenberg, 1982).
Only males of Asian elephant carry tusks, unlike both sexes in the African elephant. The
Asian elephant, Elephas maximus, is not only a separate species from its African cousin
Loxodonta africana, but is placed in a different genus. It is smaller, although large males
still weigh upto 5,000 kg and many reach more than 3.5 m in height. It is easily
distinguished because its ears are much smaller and its back slightly rounded or flat, unlike
the concave saddle-back of the African species (Kemf and Jackson, 1995). Asian elephant
have a “finger” on the upper tip of the trunk, while African elephants have a second on the
lower tip; and twin mounds on the forehead instead of the African’s single dome (Kemf and
Jackson, Op. cit.).
1.5 Elephant and Human Culture
Emperor and rulers throughout tropical Asia kept thousands of elephants, which they
used for ceremonies, hunting and war (Kemf and Jackson, 1995). Some were employed
executioners to temple trample and condemned. For Asian people however, the elephant had
greater significance than merely as a beast of burden or war. It has been an inseparable part
of their life and culture (Kemf and Jackson, Op. cit.). Ancient Hindu works frequently refer
to elephants and there was major works done on elephant’s lore, the Gajasastra (Kemf and
Jackson, Op. cit.).
The relationship between man and elephant in Asia is so unique that, the animal has
become sacred and beloved symbol to millions of people. The association of the Asian
elephant with man began in the misty past, thousands of years ago. Perhaps baby elephants,
isolated from their herds, were tamed by forest people, who found they could be ridden and
taught to obey commands. Ancient Hindu works refer frequently to elephants and one of the
most popular gods to this day is the elephant-headed Ganesh, son of Siva, one of the most
important deities of the Hindu Pantheon and consort Parvati (Santiapillai and Sukumar,
2006). As the God of Wisdom and Removal of obstacles, Ganesh is being worshiped by
Hindus at the beginning of any important undertaking (Kemf and Jackson, Op. cit.).
For the Buddhists, too, the elephant has special significance. Before Gautam
Buddha’s birth his mother, Maya, dreamt that a white elephant entered her side. Wise men
told her that, it was a sign for giving birth to a great man (Kemf and Jackson, Op. cit.). The
white elephant features in many Buddhist stirie and has been bloody wars over ownership of
the rare white elephants found in wild. Even today any white elephant captured in Thailand
automatically belongs to the King (Kemf and Jackson, Op. cit.).
Elephants continue to be stars of oriental pageantry. In Sri Lanka, against
caparisoned tusker, escorted by other richly decorated elephants, carries the reputed tooth of
the Buddha in stately procession at the annual Esala Perahera festival in Kandy (Kemf and
Jackson, Op. cit.). Many Hindu temples in south India maintain stables of elephants for
ceremonial occasions. In Mysore, South India, the great autumn festival of Dussehra is
famous for its parade of elephants painted with colourful designs and draped with rich cloth.
Ceremonial elephants also carry the royal family and their guests at the coronation of King
of Nepal before the Democratic Government has started.
In Vietnam’s central highlands, annual elephant races are still held every spring and
in some tribal village graves are decorated with elephant tusk carved out of dipterocarp
trees. Laos was called “the land of a million elephants” and its flag still bears the symbol of
the elephant (Kemf and Jackson, Op. cit.).
The Chinese prediction for animal medicines included parts of the elephant. Ivory
parings were used as diuretic and for epilepsy, osteomyelitis, smallpox, jaundice and female
sterility. The elephant flesh was prescribed for bald spots, bile for halitosis, eyeball mashed
in human milk for eye diseases, skin for injuries and ulcers,; and bone as an antidote for
poisons, as well as for vomiting, diarrhea and poor appetite.
In the past, elephants provided safe mounts for hunting tigers and rhinos (Kemf and
Jackson, Op. cit.). During the recent days in most of the National Parks or other protected
areas, elephants are used for the tourist safari to observe the wild animals from a closer
distance. The elephants are also used by the Forest department personnel in anti-poaching
patrolling, population census, chasing the crop depredating animals and transportation to the
remote location inside forests. The wildlife researchers and filmmakers are also using the
elephant very extensively for doing research and photography.
Most circus elephants are Asian elephants. Their skills demonstrate the control they
have over their hind legs; however is not just a circus trick. Elephants in the wild do this to
reach high branches for taking its as food (Kemf and Jackson, Op. cit.).
1.6 Historical Distribution
Much archaeological evidence and numerous literacy references attest to a unique
relationship between human and elephant in India, since the third millennium BC, when the
first records of tamed elephants were noted and presumable going back well before this date.
It is hard for us to imagine what might have led to human overcoming his natural fear for
such an awesome animal and also being inspired with the idea of taming it and putting it to
work.
The earlier records of tamed elephants were engravings of not later than 2500 BC,
from Mohenjo-Daro on the lower Indus. How it all began is pure speculation? Perhaps, stray
calves taken as pets sparked the idea. Once started, it was obviously much easier to find and
capture elephants than it is today and thus a cultural relationship with elephants grew and
became an inseparable part of local religion, mythology, wars and everyday life in a way
(Olivier, 1978b).
All this is recorded in many ancient documents, particularly the collection known as
the ‘Gajasastra’ (in Sanskrit) for elephant lore. Other outstanding documents are the Rig
Veda of the 20th-15th centuries BC and the Upanishads of the 9th -6th centuries BC, of which
the Chandogya Upanishad displays considerable ecological knowledge of elephants. These
and other sources confirm the presence of wild elephants and other large mammals at one
time or another in Iran, Baluchistan, Hindu Kush, Punjab, Sind, the Indus Valley, Rajasthan
and throughout the Ganges valley, over nearly all of which the elephant is now extinct
(Olivier, 1978b).
Mugal literature points to a steady eastward retreat of the elephant, induced no doubt
by centuries of trapping and hunting for ivory and sport, together with side effects of man’s
agricultural and pastoral activities, which may also have gradually altered the wider area to
today’s rather arid conditions.
There are records of elephants occurring in this period throughout Uttar Pradesh up
to the Yamuna River near Delhi and of their capture by Kheddah Sikar in the country of the
Gonds, near Mandla, in the centre of present day Madhya Pradesh. Digby (1971) records
elephant trade and trapping in Bengal, the Deccan and Orissa. They were also found in the
Bombay region and in the present day Allahabad area in south central Uttar Pradesh, in
Ganges basin, where enough elephants remained in 1530 to support an elephant-trapping
profession. The prize elephant of the Emperor Akbar (1542-1605) had been caught in
Rajasthan, from where they disappear before 1985 (Olivier, 1978b). Jerdon (1874) tells of
Asian elephant throughout Assam and the sub-Himalayan terai west to Dehradun.
Hunter (1879) was the first to provide information regarding trade of captured
elephants in Assam. In 1976 the Government planned to allow capture of 150 to 200
elephants a year which they estimated would be enough to pay for the expenses of the
district administration (GBP7,790.10s in 1875-76) (Hunter, 1879).
Asian elephants once ranged over a vast area from the Tigris and Euphrates in West
Asia to South East Asia (Olivier, 1978b). However, the present distribution is confined in
Bangladesh, Bhutan, Myanmar, China, India, Indonesia, Cambodia, Laos, Malaysia, Nepal,
Sri Lanka, Thailand and Vietnam (Santiapillai, 1987) (Figure 1.1).
Figure 1.1 Map showing the past and present distribution range of Asian elephant
(Santiapillai and Sukumar, 2006).
1.7 Elephant History in Assam
The Asian elephant has been associated with the Assam’s culture and history from
the very beginning. As Bhagadutta, the King of Pragjyotishpur (Present Guwahati) joined in
the battle of Kurushetra with his thousands of elephants, it is quite likely that, elephants
used to be caught in Assam from the very ancient time of the "Mahabharata" (Das,????).
Elephants have always been an integral part of Assam's myth and folklore, history and
culture heritage. The great king of Assam, Kumar Bhaskar Varma's (594 to 650 AD official
seal was an elephant (Anon, 2009).
In Assam, when the Mughal general, Mir Jumlah, occupied 'Garhgaon' the Ahom
capital, in March, 1662, he was able to seize their 82 elephants (Guha, 1983). This shows
that, in Assam, the domestication of Asian elephant had started much before. In 1735 AD
Sukumar Barkayeth authored the Hastividyarnava under the order of Ahom King
“Sivasinga” and his queen “Ambika Devi”. The important position which the animal held as
one of the four-fold divisions of the army during the pre-Ahom period, which continued
during the long period of Ahom history. There are five methods prevalent for elephant
capturing, out of which three methods were prevalent in Assam (Das,????). This hunting
operation dates back to the days, when Assam was ruled by Ahom Kings, who appointed
'Hati-Phukan', 'Hati-Barphukan', 'Hati-BonBorua' etc. for catching, training and
management of elephants under them (Das,????).
Once the Bargohain’s division of Ahom Royal military captured three elephants in a
Kheda operation, of which two formed the royal share and one was given to Bargohain
(Guha, 1983). Some historical information including capture and training is found in Gee
(1964) and Stracey (1963), while some information on its status in north-eastern India in the
late 1970s, largely based upon secondary sources, is found in Lahiri-Choudhury (1980).
Brief accounts on a few specific areas of Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur and
Meghalaya are found in writings of Choudhury (1991, 1992, 1993a, b, 1995, 1998) and
William and Johnsingh (1996a). During the time of oil exploration during British Period, the
Asian elephant were used for oil hunts and transportation of oil pipes and other machineries
in Digboi oilfields (Figure 1.2).
Figure 1.2. Elephant Cart used in Digboi Oil fields, Assam
(Source: Gogan Chandra Saikia).
1.8 Past Stocks of Tame Elephant
In the north Indus area, where the import of tame elephants had begun as early as the
3rd century BC, stocks of war elephants dropped from about 1500 in the Ghaznavid period
11th century, 120 in 1398, during the Delhi Sultanate (Olivier, 1978b). The three major
centres for capturing wild elephants appear to have been Bengal, Ceylon and Pegu (lower
Burma) Madras imported elephants not only from Ceylon, but even from Malays as late as
the 18th century, part of a separate Far Eastern trade. By such means the Mugal emperors
were able to build up a larger pil-khana than the Delhi Sultanate-1400 war elephants in
1452AD and 3000 between 1463AD and 1482AD. The Emperor Jahangir was reputed to
have 12,000, with over 40,000 in his whole empire (Olivier, 1978b).
The vast numbers of tame animals held from the 11th to 17th centuries, which easily
outnumber estimates for the total wild population in the world today, must reflect the fact
that there were considerably more in the wild then now. This is especially true for the
original main trapping centres and so on the following regional reports, trends in tame stocks
area quoted as above, particularly where it is believed they originated locally, to suggest
probable parallel trends in wild populations.
1.9 Present Distribution
The historical range of the elephant in India has shrunk, confining the elephants into
distinct geographical zones (Ali, 1927; Daniel, 1980; Jerdon, 1874). Elephants in the
Andaman and Nicobar islands are considered to be feral and are the descendants of a captive
stock (Easa, 2005). The Indian sub-continent has an estimated population of about 2700029000 elephants, which is about 50% of the world population (Easa, Op. cit.). These ranges
in 11 Elephant Reserves spread over within 110,000 km2 forest in north-east, central, northwest and south India (Bist, 2002).
Elephants in North-East India range in the states of Arunachal Pradesh, Assam,
Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland and Tripura (Easa, 2005). The North-Eastern
elephant was contiguous with that of Bhutan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Myanmar. The 9000-odd
elephant in the region area now discontinuously distributed and exists as 15 populations in
an area of about 8900 km2 (Choudhury, 1999).
The elephants in northern West Bengal form the western most extension of the northeast Indian elephant population. There are about 300 elephants in this region spread over
Darjeeling and Jalpaiguri district covering nine forest divisions (Easa, 2005).
The north-western elephant population in India was once distributed over parts of
Uttar Pradesh from Katerniaghat Wildlife Sanctuary to the Yamuna River (Singh, 1978).
Currently the elephant occupies about 10,000 km2 forests in the outer Himalaya and the
Shivalik Hill ranges and parts of the terai and Bhabar tracts (Easa, 2005). The elephant
habitats in central India extend over 17000 km2 in the states of Orissa, Jharkhand and
Southern West Bengal and hold a population of about 2400-2700 (Easa, 2005).
Biogeographically, this region falls in the Chhota Nagpur plateau in the north of the Eastern
Ghats (Rodgers and Panwar, 1985).
The south Indian population is distributed over the Western Ghats and parts of the
Eastern Ghats in Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh (Sukumar, 1989a). Most of the
elephant ranges in this region are hilly with the tropical evergreen, semi-evergreen, moist
deciduous, dry deciduous and dry thorn forest in addition to high altitude grasslands and
forest plantations (Easa, 2005).
In the past, the elephant population of the north used to migrate freely from one end
to the other from the river Yamuna to the river Brahmaputra, traveling a maximum distance
of approximately 1,300 kilometers as per their requirements in the foothills of Himalayas
(Singh and Sharma, 2001) (Figure 1.3).
Figure 1.3 Map showing the present distribution status of Asian elephant in India (Vidya
et al., 2005).
1.10 Population
The total population of Asian elephant in the wild is estimated between about 36,000
and 52,000 (Santiapipillai and Sukumar, 2006) (Table 1.1). The Asian elephant population
in all over the world is facing threat in all its distribution ranges. Nevertheless, the lust for
‘white gold’ has a serious impact, for when tuskers are killed before they have breed, their
valuable genes are lost forever and, as such, tuskless could ultimately become the norm
(Santiapillai and Jackson, 1990). Regional variation in number or proportion of tuskers in
the male segment may reflect the intensity of past hunting for ivory or selective capture of
tusked males, a process that has been going on for thousands of years (Santiapillai and
Sukumar, 2006).
Table 1.1 Showing the minimum and maximum population of Asian elephant in Wild
(2006).
Country
Zones/
Area
Bangladesh
Bhutan
Cambodia
China
India
South
Central
North-East
NorthWest
Area
(Km2)
147570
46600
181035
9579000
3287590
Elephant range
(km2)
39,500)
23500
41000
5500
Indonesia
1919440
105000
Kalimantan 550,200)
c.5,000
Sumatra
524,100)
c.100,000
Laos
236800
c.20,000
Malaysia
329750
c.45,000
Peninsular
(c.20,000)
Sabah
(c.25,000)
Myanmar
678000
115000
Nepal
141400
c.2,500
Sri Lanka
65610
c.15,000
Thailand
513115
25000
Vietnam
340000
c.3,000
Total
17465910
486800
(Source: Santiapillai and Sukumar, 2006.)
Minimum-Maximum
190-230
250-500
400-600
170-200
22,800-32,400)
10,300-17,400)
2,400-2,700)
9,200-11,300)
900-1,000)
1,180-1,500
?-?
1,180-1,557
780-1,200
2,250-3,000
1,251-1,466
1,100-1,600
4,000-5,300
100-130
2,100-3,000
2,500-3,000
70-100
36,790-51,160
1.11 Population of Asian elephant in India
The population data on the Asian elephant is available from the year 1980. The
Asian elephant population in India is in increasing trend from 1980 to the last census in the
year 2007. The population of Asian elephant in India during the year 1980 was 15,627
individuals; in the year 1985 it was 18,795; in the year 1989 it was 20,862; in the year 1993
it was 25,604; in the year 1997 it was 25,877; in the year 2002 it was 26,413; and in the year
2007 it was 27,694 individuals (Figure 1.4; Table 1.2).
Total Poulation in India
30000
25000
18975
20000
25604
25877
26413
1993
1997
2002
27694
20862
15627
15000
10000
5000
0
1980
1985
1989
2007
Year
Figure 1.4 Showing the total population of Asian elephant during different past
census in India (Source: Official website of Ministry of Environment and Forest,
2011).
Table 1.2 Showing the regional population of Asian elephant during the census of 2007.
Region
North-East
Total for NorthEast
East
Total for East
State
Elephant Population
1997
2002
1800
1607
5312
5246
1840
1868
158
145
22
33
30
12
70
40
1993
2102
5524
2872
178
15
50
100
Arunachal
Assam
Meghalaya
Nagaland
Mizoram
Manipur
Tripura
West Bengal
(North)
186
250
292
11027
9482
9243
14
550
1750
26
618
1800
36
772
1841
2007-2008
1690
5281
1811
152
12
Nil
59
300-350
9305-9355
West Bengal
(South)
Jharkhand
Orissa
Chhattisgarh
_
_
2314
_
2444
2649
25
624
1862
122
2633
North
Uttarakhand
U.P.
Total for North
South
Tamilnadu
Karnataka
Kerala
Andhra Pradesh
Maharashtra
Total for South
Islands
Grand Total
828
47
875
2307
5500
3500
46
1130
70
1200
2971
6088
3600
57
_
_
_
11353 12716
1582
85
1667
3052
5838
3850
74
12814
Andaman &
Nicobar
25604
1346
380
1726
3867
4035
6068
28
7
14005
NA
35
35
40
25877 26413 27669-27719
Mid Value27694
Source: Official website of Ministry of Environment and Forest, Govt. of India, 2011)
1.12 Population in Manas National Park
The population census of Manas has been started from the year 1970-80. But, due to
initiation of the political unrest in the region the illegal hunting and poaching had increased
and the population of Asian elephant starts declining. The total population of Asian elephant
during 1979-80, 1993 and 2002 were 1216, 522 and 567 respectively (Table 1.3).
Table 1.3 Showing the past population Asian elephant in Manas National Park.
Year/
Adult
Sub Adult
Juvenile
Sol Calf Total
Age- T M
F
US T M
F
US T M F US M
Sex
1979- 36 31 464 116 291 278 - ?
1216
80
1993 37 52 164 22 28 28 41 27 - 25 22
0
76
522
2002 10 107 180 26 14 28 44 18 7 13 23
6
1
90
567
T-Tusker; M-Makhana (male without tusk); F-Female; US-unsexed
(Source: Office of the Project Tiger, Manas, Assam)
1.13 Ecology
Elephants are extreme generalists and have adapted to a wide range of habitat types,
ranging from dry thorn forest to wet evergreen forests. They are able to do this, since they
are able to live on a wide variety of food plants (Desai, 2001). While they are dependent on
grass for the bulk of their diet in the deciduous forests that are dominated by grass. They can
live almost entirely on browse (woody plants) and fruits in evergreen forest, where there is
no grass (Desai, Op. cit.). However, Sukumar and Santiapillai (2006) described that,
elephants are less discriminating than other herbivores in what they eat. While bulk of time
is spent on feeding, water is also a very important and critical resource for elephants. In
addition to the need for drinking, elephants also need water to cool themselves (Desai,
2001). Their ears act like radiators and hot blood coming into the ears is cooled by several
degrees centigrade and sent back into the body. They bath in water to cool themselves
(Desai, Op. cit.).
Elephants rest twice in a day, once during the hot hours of the day and the other just
before dawn. Like horses, they can sleep while standing but they also lie down and sleep.
Calves always lie down and rest (Desai, 2001).
1.14 Social Organization
The social organization of elephants is interesting, with males and females having
different social organization. Males are solitary, while females live in herds. The female
society is matriarchal and the oldest female is the leader of the family (Desai, 2001). The
size of the family units varies depending on the number of dependent offspring (Desai, Op.
cit.). Association between family units of a mother and her adult daughters, between several
adult sisters and even between cousins. In a clan, all the related family units have been
found. The clan represents the largest cohesive unit within an elephant population (Desai,
Op. cit.). The clan members associate with each other regularly, they do not normally mix or
associate with members of other clans. Living in close-knit social units also ensures that the
whole group responds to any threat (Desai, Op. cit.).
Males live largely solitary lives and do not really form strong bonds or associations
with other males or female social units (Desai, 2001). Being social animal, males will
however, associate temporarily with any other elephants (males or females) that they may
encounter during their normal activities and associate for short periods of time with female
herds for breeding (Desai, Op. cit.).
1.15 Home Ranges
Both, clans and solitary males, have specific home ranges within which they live
their entire lives if undisturbed and if habitat condition remains suitable. As resources (food,
water and shelter) are not uniformly distributed over the forest, the elephants need to have
good knowledge of where the resources are available in order to survive. Such information
cannot be gathered and used if from elephants keep moving randomly over the entire forest
area (Desai, 2001). Over time, clans search, find and remember what resources are found
where and they then repeatedly use these resources. Clans therefore develop an intimate
knowledge about resource availability within a fixed area that will sustain them through
different seasons and over the years. This area is known as the home range (Desai, Op. cit.).
The differences in the home range areas in different habitat types have been observed in
both, the Asian and the African elephant.
1.16 Breeding Biology
The elephant is a polygynous species. Although males are sexually mature when they
are about 15 years old, they may not actually be able to mate until 20 or 25 due to social
reasons (Sukumar and Santiapillai, 1993). Female Asian elephant usually give birth to their
first calf when they are 12 to 17 years old. Typically, a female elephant produces a calf
every 4.5 to 5.0 year (McKay 1973; Sukumar, 1989b). Mortality rate over 5 years average
only 1 % to 3 % per annum in females and up to 6% per annum in males under natural
conditions (Sukumar, Op. cit.).
1.17 Elephant Corridors
The elephant corridors play an important role for the survival of the Asian elephant
in the today’s fragmented forests especially in India. Menon et al. (2005) evaluated 88
elephant corridor in India. Approximately 41 % of the Asian elephant corridors are found in
North-Eastern India and northern West Bengal. There is an inverse relationship between
forest cover available in elephant ranging states and number of corridors in each state,
indicating greater fragmentation of the smaller forest habitats (Menon et al., Op. cit.). On a
zonal basis, the highest numbers of corridors were seen in northern West Bengal that has
one corridor for every 157 km2 of available elephant habitat. Similarly for North-Eastern
India, one corridor exists for every 1764 km2 and northern India one in every 460 Km2
(Menon et al., Op. cit.). Of the identified corridors, about one third (30%) are of ecologically
high priority and 67 % are of medium priority (Menon et al., Op. cit.). Based on
conservation feasibility, 19.3 % are of high priority, 55.7 % of medium and 25 % of low
priority (Menon et al., Op. cit.).
1.18 Project Elephant
The Project Elephant (PE) was launched by the Government of India in the year
1991-92 as a Centrally Sponsored Scheme with the objectives –a. To protect elephants, their
habitat & corridors, b. To address issues of man-animal conflict and c. Welfare of
domesticated elephants.
Financial and technical supports are being provided to major elephant bearing States
in the country. The Project is being mainly implemented in 13 States / UTs , viz. Andhra
Pradesh , Arunachal Pradesh , Assam , Jharkhand , Karnataka , Kerala , Meghalaya ,
Nagaland , Orissa , Tamil Nadu , Uttaranchal , Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal. Small
support is also being given to Maharashtra and Chhattisgarh.
Under Elephant project the North-East India there are nine elephant reserves viz.
Kameng Elephant Reserve, Sonitpur Elephant Reserve, Dihing-Patkai Elephant Reserve,
South Arunachal Elephant Reserve, Kaziranga-Karbi Anglong Elephant Reserve, DhansiriLungding Elephant Reserve, Intanki Elephant Reserve, Chirang Ripu Elephant Reserve and
Eastern Dooars Elephant Reserve.
1.19 Threats
Throughout its range the Asian elephant is increasingly being confronted by socioeconomic and political pressures that threaten to destroy the very habitats set aside for its
long-term survival in wild (Sukumar and Santiapillai, 2006). The conservation of the Asian
elephants in India is not possible without the political will and commitment as the
implementation of many of the conservation recommendations outlined here will be
impossible. Government commitment and action must be obviously based on sound
ecological, economic and cultural arguments for conservation of the elephant in the light of
its positive values and negative impacts on the environment. Most elephants now share their
habitat with shifting cultivators. Shifting cultivation is particularly characteristic of
mountainous regions in the tropics, as it is peculiarly suited to conditions prevalent there.
Despite the often direct exploitation of elephants by Asian shifting-cultivators, the elephant
continues to survive in close proximity with them as it may have centuries (Olivier, 1978b).
Assam, the North-Eastern state of India, with its thick evergreen forests, green hills
and abundant natural sources of water is considered one of the last bastions of the Asian
elephants. Large herds of wild elephants once roamed in the forests of the region was abode
to thousands of wild elephants. Clearing large tracts of elephant habitat for tea estates,
resettlement of farmers displaced by flood and erosion of the mighty Brahmaputra and
tributaries, land conversion by politically motivated transmigration of farmers from within
and outside the state as well as the neighboring foreign countries, have rapidly dwindled the
centuries old virgin forests and wild herds are becoming homeless in their own abode
(Sarma, 2007). Hence, in the state of Assam, the Asian elephant population is also under
threat from habitat destruction and depletion.
The main reason for the Asian elephant’s decline is the drastic habitat loss due to
habitat fragmentation, expanding human populations and growing resource demands
(Sukumar, 1989b). In all the Asian elephant distribution range habitat depletion resulted into
the venture of the elephant into the human habitation areas resulting into human-elephant
conflict. The Asian elephant Elephas maximus is a large bodied animal requiring large areas
to roam. Threat from the diseases transmitted by the domestic animals as they enter into the
Asian elephant habitats from the nearby fringe villages erupting as one of the threat to the
Asian elephant. Richman et al. (1999) have identified a cause of an unknown disease and
respectively, the virus was identified as EEHV. This virus is known as endotheliotropic
herpesvirus (Richman et al., Op. cit.) is a major threat to infant elephants in captivity
(Ossent et al., 1990). This new emerging threat plays a crucial role for the survival of Asian
elephant.
1.20 Human elephant conflict
Despite the special esteem in which the elephant is held in Asia, the relationship
between humans and elephants has undergone a drastic change, contraction and loss of
habitats made it antagonistic (Lahiri-Choudhury, 1988a). People encroach on the elephant’s
land; elephants eat the crops cultivated on the occupied land; people strike out at elephants
for doing this; elephant retaliate. This is the crux of the human-elephant conflict in Asia
(Lahiri-Choudhury, Op. cit.). Elephants kill over 200 people each year in India alone
(Sukumar and Santiapillai, 2006). Between 1990 and 2001, wild elephants killed more than
450 people across Assam (Talukdar and Barman, 2003). In many parts of the range of the
elephant in Asia, the human-elephant conflict has escalated for a variety of reasons
(Sukumar and Santiapillai, 2006). The resolution of the conflict between elephants and
sedentary, agriculturally-based people is a priority issue in the conservation of the species
(Hoare, 2001). The conflict between people and elephants continues as farm expand into
elephant habitats (Barnes, 2008).
1.21 Why the present study?
With the increase in the human population in India the Asian elephant is facing
tremendous pressures from all sides beginning from habitat destruction, habitat depletion,
habitat alteration, poaching, killing, conflict with human etc. in its entire distribution range.
Conservation and management of endangered species in the wild requires adequate
knowledge of their distribution and population size (Sukumar, 1989b). Conservationist
needs for more information on the habitat requirements of species of conservation concern.
Much of this is behavioural in terms of diet choice, home range, social system and breeding
behaviour (Sutherland, 1998). For example altitudinal migrations can be important (Powell
and Bork, 1995) and these need to be understood when designing reserves or conservation
policies.
With the destruction of forest beginning from the British Period, when they started
converting the forest land into a monoculture plantation (tea) and extracted Shorea robusta
timber for railway slipper and other purposes, major area of the Assam forest had been
depleted. During the last decade of the last century another destruction spell for the forest of
Assam had started till the intervention by Supreme Court of India in the timber operation in
the state. These destructions depleted major habitat areas of the Asian elephant in Assam.
But, no study had been done in Asian elephant ecology, though lots of authors have done
work on its population status, distribution, human elephant conflict, movements,
conservation action etc. The North East India has nine Elephant Reserves, where no research
work has been done in the ecology of elephant except the regular departmental census. The
Manas National Park is the core area of the Chirang-Ripu Elephant Reserve in the Western
Assam. Hence, the present study has been designed to evaluate the “Ecology of Asian
Elephant, Elephas maximus, Linn. 1758 in Manas National Park, Assam” with the following
justification1. The ecology of the Asian elephant was not known from the nine elephant reserves,
protected areas and five national parks of Assam.
2. The study area of the present study was the Manas National Park, which is also the
core area of the Manas Tiger Reserve.
3. There has been reported sharp decline of the Asian elephant population in Manas
National Park and reason for such decline was in confusion.
4. Asian elephant population in Manas National Park was heavily impacted by Hunting
and Poaching during the last century of the last decade.
5. The Manas National Park reportedly serves as the sink for the Asian elephant
population, which is between the Subankhata Reserve Forests in the east and
Kuklung Reserved Forest.
6. The Manas National Park is also connected with the Royal Manas National Park of
Bhutan on the northern boundary having contiguous forest connectivity. This
contiguity of forest with the Bhutan will give tremendous opportunity to study the
Asian elephant ecology on Landscape level.
7. The study area i.e. Manas National Park is having woodland and grassland and is in
the Bhabar-terai vegetation zone on the foothills of Bhutan.
8. The study area, Manas National Park is bordered with the fringe villages where
regular human-elephant conflict has been reported.
9. The results of the present study will help the management of the Manas National
Park, to design site specific conservation plan for the conservation of the Asian
elephant in Manas National Park.
10. The study on the ecology of the Asian elephant will provide information on the
habitat use and food of Asian elephant, which will help in the management of the
habitat and food plants in Manas National Park by the Management.
11. The study will help to justify the need for conservation of bigger species like Asian
elephant on landscape level between India and Bhutan.
12. Such study will provide information to enables to evolve suitable conservation
programmes for each area to maintain and restore habitat integrity, reduce
anthropogenic and biotic pressure to safeguard the Asian elephant population.
1.22 Objectives
The general objective of the present study was to find out the “Ecology of Asian
Elephant, Elephas maximus, Linn. 1758 in Manas National Park, Assam”. The specific
objectives for the present study were as follows1. To study the present population of Asian elephant in Manas National Park.
2. To study the habitat utilization pattern of Asian elephant in Manas National Park.
3. To study the home range of Asian elephant in Manas National Park.
4. To investigate the Activity pattern of Asian elephant in Manas National Park.
5. To study the food and feeding pattern of Asian elephant in Manas National Park.
6. To study the human elephant conflict in Manas National Park.
7. To study the conservation threats of Asian elephant in Manas National Park.