Since January, a pervasive anti-wildlife sentiment has descended over the district and violent protests erupted against animals and conservationists
Elephant herd in the forests of Wayanad, Kerala. Photo: iStock An unsettling silence has descended upon Kerala’s northern hilly district of Wayanad as the harsh summer sets in. This is when the wild animals, especially elephants, migrate to this part of the state in search of food and water. This gives rise to human-wildlife conflicts, pushing a segment of the residents to take up extreme measures against the animals while others continue to pray for a harmonious co-existence.
On February 10, a 20-year-old wild elephant Belur Makhna fatally trampled a local farmer. Even though the animal has retreated to its roaming grounds in the southern Karnataka forests, traversing the inter-state Kabini river and evading a 200-strong pursuing team consisting of forest guards, range officers, veterinarians and four kumki elephants (trained elephants used by forest departments), the air is thick with fear of a repeat of such an incident.
Wayanad’s forests form part of the Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve, situated at the tri-junction knot of the southern Indian states of Kerala, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. During the scorching summer months, wild animals face water and food shortages in the Mudmumalai, Sathyamangalam, Bandipur and Nagarahole forests till June when the southwest monsoon arrives. In these conditions, they relocate en masse to the Wayanad forests, where they remain temporarily during the upcoming months.
In addition to having more water and forage than other regions of the biosphere reserve, the Wayanad forests experience fewer summertime effects. So the wild animals are expected to migrate there this year as well.
Indigenous people and migrants from outside have lived in hundreds of rural villages in Wayanad for generations. So far, most of them have established a lengthy track record of coexisting harmoniously with the fauna.
But of late, there have been wilful attempts to portray these villages as conflict zones, citing stray and isolated incidents like the one involving Belur Makhna. While many settler farmers have joined the outcry, it’s intriguing to see that the cacophony does not involve the native tribals, who also till the land and engage in agriculture.
Since January this year, a pervasive anti-wildlife sentiment is evident throughout the district, with residents demanding shoot-at-sight permits to eliminate animals that intrude upon forest boundaries and disrupt crop harvests.
A disinformation campaign is being conducted by groups with vested interests to suggest that animals should be restricted to forests and those coming to human settlements should not be permitted to survive.
Religious organisations, politicians, the timber cartel and the tourism lobby have exaggerated the status of human-wildlife conflicts in the region. These groups depict wildlife as a burden or curse.
There have been instances of individuals abusing local conservation activists and mistreating forest protection staff. A dawn-to-dusk hartal (mass protest) in Wayanad over the human-animal conflict saw people waylaying the vehicles of forest officials and manhandling them, besides causing damage to the vehicles. The demonstrators also hung the corpse of a cow killed, allegedly by a tiger, from one such vehicle.
Despite the impending Lok Sabha election, political parties are competing to inflame the anti-wild animal sentiments that are prevalent among a portion of the district's voters.
The visit to Wayanad by Bhupender Yadav, the Union Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change, accompanied by his remark that state governments have the authority to eliminate wildlife that endangers human life, has sparked a greater public resentment against wildlife.
These interest groups exert considerable pressure on wildlife under the pretext of ecotourism. Resorts near the Wayanad forests host parties with loud music, which provoke wild animals, specifically elephants, the state noted in February, prohibiting high-decibel music at such establishments.
The animals are further distressed by the noise and presence of tourist vehicles in the core of the sanctuary.
When senior forest department officials invited Nawab Shafath Ali Khan, a sharpshooter from Hyderabad, to execute Belur Makhna, anti-wildlife sentiment in Wayanad reached its peak on February 23. He was persuaded to not go ahead with the plan after extensive opposition from personnel of the Rapid Response Team (RRT), which is engaged in addressing human-animal conflicts and is renowned for its extraordinary record of relocating and tranquillising over a hundred tigers and elephants.
Numerous environmentalists from Karnataka defended Belur Makhna and condemned Kerala’s efforts to fire it down, notwithstanding the fact that it trampled Aji Joseph in Mananthavady, Wayanad to death.
They claimed that on November 30, 2023, the pachyderm was captured from a plantation in Hassan district, radio-collared and relocated to the Moolehole range in Bandipur Tiger Reserve. They say it has no history of attacking humans or causing any damage except for crop raiding.
CCTV images provide evidence that Belur’s assault was provoked, as individuals, including the deceased Joseph, stoned it. At the same time, forest personnel attempted to drive it back into the forest. Desperate individuals then framed the unfortunate elephant as the antagonist and rallied support to have it killed.
On the other hand, the anti-wildlife factions in Wayanad are citing Bhupender Yadav, who stated that the Kerala government had the authority to determine whether the elephant should be executed or captured.
Yadav informed the authorities of Kerala that if the circumstances call for it, they do not require authorisation from the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change to shoot the elephant.
Wayanad is currently observing recurring incidents where elephants are pursued, even within forests, to capture and train them to become kumkis. This is despite the fact that Section 11 of the Wildlife (Protection) Act of 1972 explicitly forbids the pursuit of untamed animals.
Simultaneously, clause (1)(A) grants the authority to the Chief Wildlife Warden of each state to authorise the termination of a protected wild animal’s life if they have determined that the creature has developed into a threat to human life, is irreparably disabled or afflicted with a disease, or is incapable of being tranquilised and relocated.
The Kerala Assembly recently enacted a resolution requesting a clause amendment to transfer authority from the CWLW to the Chief Conservators of Forests. The government believes that this amendment would streamline the process of addressing critical wildlife situations by allowing for prompt and efficient decision-making at the local level, thereby streamlining the procedure.
The violence directed at forest officials in Wayanad is impeding the adoption of sustainable solutions to alleviate the conflict.
In addition to Wayanad, people living in Kerala’s forested districts of Kannur, Palakkad and Idukki face a similar problem — wild boars, elephants, leopards and gaurs are in conflict with them.
The year 2022-23 witnessed an official tally of 8,873 wildlife attacks on humans in Kerala. Wild elephants accounted for 4,193 of these incidents, while wild boars accounted for 1,524, tigers for 193, leopards for 244 and gaurs for 32. According to government reports, elephant attacks were responsible for an estimated 27 fatalities.
Thirty-one lives have been lost in elephant assaults and seven to tiger attacks in Wayanad over the past decade. From 2017-23, the state documented a total of 20,957 incidents of crop loss attributed to wild animal assaults. Additionally, 1,559 domestic animals, predominantly cattle, were slaughtered. Based on data presented in the Kerala Assembly, wildlife-induced crop damage since 2019 has resulted in an approximate loss of ₹68 crore.
Wayanad, which shares a border with the Mudumalai tiger reserve of Tamil Nadu and the Nagarahole and Bandipur tiger reserves of Karnataka, is forested an estimated 36.48 per cent of the way.
An earlier report by Down to Earth documented how the emergence of invasive and alien species is precipitating a degradation of forest habitats, which is causing a severe food crisis for wild animals throughout the Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve region.
Forest officials introduced exotic invasive species such as Senna, Mikania and Lantana many years ago with the intention of enhancing the aesthetic appeal of the forests. However, these species are now destroying the biodiversity and food chain of the forests of the region.
The introduction of commercial alien plants into forested areas, such as acacia and eucalyptus, contributed significantly to the deteriorating situation. Because these species are being cultivated on an area of forest land spanning 30,000 hectares in Kerala alone, the natural habitats and food sources of these animals are endangered.
A majority of the invasive and non-native plant species are water-guzzlers that deplete forests’ natural water resources. As a result, elephants are among the most severely impacted species.
The Kerala forest department stopped planting acacia and eucalyptus in forest tracts around six years ago. However, it will require time to restore natural forests to the point where animals no longer confront food and water shortages. Eco-restoration through scientific means is the only viable option.
Officials from Kerala reported that only 1,115 hectares of forest villages have been successfully converted into natural habitats thus far as part of the state government's initiative to relocate traditional forest dwelling families. As of now, 782 families have been rehoused and compensated Rs 95 crore; their former properties have been transformed into forests. Other creatures, including elephants, cannot be “relocated” from human settlements.
Kerala has implemented various measures to control the human-animal conflict over time, such as the construction of stone walls, elephant-proof trenches and solar-powered electrified fencing. The state maintained 158.4 kilometres of elephant-proof trenches and built 237 kilometres of compound walls and 42.6 kilometres of solar fencing in 2022-23. However, these measures do not even come close to mitigating the severe crisis that is sweeping the entire state and Wayanad in particular.
Wayanad, according to experts, necessitates substantial financial investments in both short-term and long-term initiatives to resolve the current crisis; the central and state governments must contribute substantially.
Wayanad’s land-use patterns have undergone significant transformations over time due to the encroachment of settlers on vulnerable terrain and the efforts of resort tourism lobbyists to usurp lands close to forest fringes, wetlands and catchment areas of rivers and waterways, and the situation needs urgent attention, conservationists have noted.
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