On the Right Track to Saving Elephants
Assam has one of the highest rates of trains killing elephants in India, but it now seems that Elephant Family’s project with the Wildlife Trust of India (WTI) to redress this situation is beginning to pay off: a herd of 15 elephants was saved thanks to timely intervention towards the end of last month.
At least 19 elephants were killed on India’s railways last year, making it one of the worst on record. This figure includes seven that were killed in one incident in North Bengal, which shone a critical spotlight on this issue. Since 2008 Elephant Family and WTI have been taking such simple preventative measures as enforcing speed limits, raising awareness among train drivers, clearing vegetation on otherwise blind corners, and running night patrols to alert train drivers to any elephants crossing the tracks. These build on WTI’s earlier successes in Rajaji National Park, Uttarakhand State, where such measures eliminated collisions altogether. Carrying them out across the entire state of Assam presents a much greater challenge, but progress is definitely being made.
Night patrols, such as the one pictured above, have proved particularly effective. The six-strong teams include two members each from the Forest Department, Railways Department and WTI-Elephant Family. Elephants and other wildlife are most likely to cross the tracks at night, and the teams patrol key crossing sites to keep watch for them. Once any animals are spotted, the teams alert nearby railway control rooms, who then instruct the drivers of approaching trains to slow down and take other precautions. It is believed that these patrols have already prevented more than 80 accidents since the end of November 2008.
Indeed, it was such a night patrol that saved the herd of approximately 15 elephants in the Deepor Beel area of Assam, near Guwahati, in the early hours of Friday 22nd April. The herd is believed to have come from the Rani-Garbhanga Reserve Forest and was crossing the railway line at the same time as a goods train was approaching. The driver was quickly alerted, and managed to stop the train in the nick of time. This particular stretch of track has been identified as an accident hotspot, but thanks to the patrols 35 potential accidents have been averted here over the past year alone.
Yet sadly, less than a week before this success, a train struck an elephant near the Gibbon Wildlife Sanctuary, also in Assam. The first that Forest officials knew of the incident was when the adolescent male was seen limping near the sanctuary. The Centre for Wildlife Rehabilitation and Conservation – run by WTI and the International Fund for Animal Welfare – was informed straightaway, and their team of vets were able to locate it and began treating it the following day. Despite being transferred to a safe location, treated, fed, and monitored, the elephant’s injuries were ultimately too severe, and it finally succumbed to them this morning. While distressing, this is only the second elephant fatality recorded on India's railways so far this year, and although it is too soon to know for certain, this also suggests that the preventative measures are working. Elephant Family and WTI are now aiming to expand their influence on this issue throughout the country.
written by Dan Bucknell on 04th May 11
