An assessment of the human-elephant conflict in Sri Lanka

Abstract

The association between man and elephant in Sri Lanka is ancient. Elephants being the largest terrestrial herbivores require relatively large areas and diversity of environments to forage. With the increase in human population density and changes in the land-use patterns, elephant habitat is being continuously reduced. As a result, much of the present day elephant range extends into and overlaps with agricultural lands resulting in conflict with man. The assessment of the human-elephant conflict was carried out from January to March 2008 through the use of a questionnaire in 100 villages selected randomly from five provinces whose combined extent is 42,559 km 2 which amounts roughly to 65% of the total land area of Sri Lanka. 65% of the respondents identified crop depredations with bull elephants, both young and old. At least 13 food items have been identified by the villagers as preferred by wild elephants in agricultural areas. Crop damage to paddy accounted for 69% of the complaints. At the same time, most of the farmers identified citrus trees as the most likely crop to be avoided by elephants. Failure to recognize the significance of the human-elephant conflict can result in a negative attitude to elephants and apathy or indifference to conservation initiatives. Although it is unlikely that the human-elephant conflict can be eliminated altogether, yet every effort must be taken to reduce it to tolerable levels.

Balancing African Elephant Conservation with Human Well-Being in Rombo Area, Tanzania

“…Across the three study divisions, crop raiding was the most frequently recorded and mentioned HEC. This agrees with a study in Zimbabwe, where crops such as maize and sorghum were found to attract elephants [15] while in Ghana cocoa was most attractive [26]; in India, coffee seemed to attract elephants [27] and in Asia paddy [28]. In our study area, 82% of respondents mentioned maize to be highly preferred by elephants compared to other crops, congruent with findings by [15,29] in Zimbabwe and Tanzania (Serengeti), respectively.…”

“…This is relatively high loss compared to other studies like in Cameroon which showed the cost of elephant raiding was 195 USD per ha [33] and in Asia 200 USD per year. Elephant crop raiding (95%) in this study took place during the nights and early mornings, involving both male and female elephants, similar to our study, which is in contrast to findings by [28] that found that mainly solitary bulls attacked crops in Sri Lanka.…”

“…In our study area, 82% of respondents mentioned maize to be highly preferred by elephants compared to other crops, congruent with findings by [15,29] in Zimbabwe and Tanzania (Serengeti), respectively. In our study area the cases for human mortality by elephants were few, similar to [20,30,31], contrary to a study in Asia where human mortality through elephants was high up to 50 people killed per year [28]. HEC frequency in the study area was strongly seasonal and occurred during crop maturity between May and July.…”

Agricultural Lifestyle, Perspectives and Conservational Issues in Protected Areas: A Study of Human-Elephant Conflict in Pidurangala in the Central Province of Sri Lanka

“…Even though people and wild elephants live within the same sanctuary, human death and injuries were low compared to other regions in Sri Lanka. For example, Santiapillai et al (2010) revealed human fatalities by elephants in five regions in Sri Lanka; Northwestern, North Central, Central, Eastern and Eva provinces and found that 45 people were killed by wild elephants in 2008, but none were reported from the Central Province. People have a deep knowledge about elephants due to their direct co-existence with elephants in the same area, and know how to save their lives from elephant attacks.…”

Acoustic detection of elephant presence in noisy environments

“…Request permissions from permissions@acm.org. every year [10]. Different efforts have been undertaken to alleviate this conflict, such as the establishment of electric fences, which is, however, not practicable to cover larger areas.…”