The Tirunelli-Kudrakote corridor is a 2,200-acre strip of land that links the Tirunelli and Begur Forest Reserves. And it’s a lifeline for 6,500 Asian elephants – the largest herd of wild elephants on the planet.
This area is also a biodiversity hotspot. Elephants living here share their forest homes with many other animals including leopards, tigers, chital and the black-naped hare.
We’ve been working with the Wildlife Trust of India to secure this vital strip of land, protect the elephants passing through it and help local villagers reach a safer life outside the danger zone.
When the project began, the corridor was home to 54 families in five settlements. Four of these settlements have now been relocated to brand new safe homes where they are now able to grow crops without the fear of raiding and dangerous encounters from wild elephants. This leaves the final settlement for which plans are already underway.
Our aim is to secure protected status for the Tirunelli-Kudrakote corridor – and to ensure that Asian elephants and all the other animals here can safely reach new feeding grounds for many years to come.
Tirunelli-Kudrakote Elephant Corridor Project
Aim:
The long-term goal is to secure this vital migratory path for Asian elephants in this area. A continuous area of land has been identified between two immediately adjacent and protected areas: the Tirunelli Reserve Forest and the Begur Reserve Forest. The ultimate goal is to buy the land and/or re-home all the people living here and secure legal protected status for the corridor.
Results:
In 2005 a book called ‘Right of Passage: elephant corridors of India’ was published. This book identifies 88 elephant corridors in India which serves as a priority list to reconnect elephant habitat.
The research for the book was undertaken by the Wildlife Trust of India and its regional partner, the Asian Elephant Research and Conservation Centre in Bangalore and formed the very first step to address the problem of fragmented elephant habitat. The Wildlife Trust of India aims to conserve the Asian elephant in India by securing and restoring all the vital elephant corridors of the country.
The Tirunelli-Kudrakote corridor links Wayanad Wildlife Sanctuary of Kerala with the Brahmagiri Wildlife Sanctuary of Karnataka through the forests of Wayanad North Forest Division. This is also the home of largest population of elephants in the southern region of India. However, five settlements within the corridor – Thirulakunnu, Valia Emmadi, Kottapadi, Pulayankolly and Edayur vayal – are considered to be major threats impeding free movement of elephants and other wildlife.
Of these the Wildlife Trust of India has secured four settlements and is working on the fifth and final settlement. In the first settlement, Thirulakunnu, 9.16 acres of land has been secured. In the second, Valiya emmadi, 6.7 acres of land have been secured (in partnership with elephant family et al.). Elephant Family's support in 2010 has allowed the purchase of the three acres of corridor land at Pullayankolly, and as soon as construction of new housing elsewhere has been completed for the 26 families there, then the process will be completed. Meanwhile, a further 8.75 acres of land were also secured in 2010 from the fourth settlement, Kottapadi, and the sole resident is now living a more comfortable life in a village not far from the corridor. This leaves just one more settlement, Edayur Vayal, to be secured for completion of the project
Status:
Supported since 2007
