Elephants in Assam enjoy their ancestral right of passage
Asian elephants are migratory animals with home ranges as large as 600km². But human expansion disrupts their movements, relegating many populations to tiny patches of land. Elephant Family understands the importance of securing elephant corridors to improve connectivity as a way of reducing human-elephant conflict.
Carving out space for wildlife in an increasingly crowded landscape is a real challenge that requires creative solutions. Together with our field partner the Wildlife Trust of India (WTI) we collaborated with local communities living alongside a crucial elephant corridor in Assam’s Kaziranga Karbi-Anglong landscape to secure the voluntary relocation of 100 villagers to a new location.
These families now enjoy newly built brick houses, their own agricultural land (1.3 acres per family) and new cooking equipment that has already reduced their consumption of firewood by 27%.
But it’s not just the villagers that are enjoying a wonderfully productive new life – the elephants are too. With an estimated 2,000 elephants in the area, the secured corridor means a safe rite of passage for these endangered animals. This week the field staff witnessed a wonderful sight; a herd moving harmoniously through the Kalapahar-Daigrung corridor.
The sighting is living proof that once they get their space back, humans and elephants can co-exist peacefully. Elephant Family would like to thank all its supporters and donors who helped fund this work … but there is more to do if we are to secure the 101 corridors that have been identified across India.
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