Soon, wireless device to alert trains about jumbos

  

Deaths So Far
According to the Elephant Task Force report, dated August 31, 2010, 150 elephants have been killed in train collisions since 1987

Pune: To prevent incidents of elephants getting hit by trains, the ministry of railways and the ministry of environment and forests (MoEF) will join hands to carry out a project wherein the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Delhi, will develop a wireless sensor device. 

The device – wild animal protection system – will detect the presence of elephants on railway tracks and activate a signal system that would alert the station master to warn trains to slow down or stop. 

The information given as response to an RTI inquiry (dated June 1), sought by international NGO Animal Equality, states that the wireless sensor device will be ready for trial in 2016. 

Amruta Ubale, a Punebased member of Animal Equality, said, following the unfortunate accidents that killed many elephants and the absence of effective measures to prevent them, Animal Equality wrote to the environment and forests minister urging them to consider the suggestions, including installation of radar sensors on the train to detect animal presence (mobile and immobile) on the tracks. 

Last year, at a meeting between the railway minister and the MoEF, the use of technological gadgets, which will be a cost-effective mechanism in the long run, was emphasized. It was also decided to entrust IIT Delhi with the task of developing the device and to run the pilot project preferably in the forest areas of north West Bengal, said Ubale. 

“Our letter with suggestions was forwarded by the MoEF to the ministry of railways in 2010. Sensor devices are used by international car companies and also on some trains and ships. The devices have proved useful in avoiding collisions,” said Ubale.

 “The state forest department and animal welfare organizations jointly intervened in some states and implemented measures, such as patrolling, electric fencing, installation of signs and hoardings, levelling of steep embankments, creating awareness among engine drivers and railway staff and clearing vegetation at blind corners for better visibility. These appear to have been successful to some extent. However, much needed to be done as trains continue to kill elephants. 

“These measures combined with the sensor device shall hopefully prove successful in mitigating elephant deaths,’’ Ubale added. 

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Early Rly warning system being developed

GUWAHATI, June 16 – Innovative technology will now be used to save an ancient species of the country. An early warning signal is being developed to monitor the movement of elephants on railway tracks where a number of those have been crushed by speeding trains.

According to the report of the Elephant Task Force dated August 31, 2010, 150 animals have been killed in train collisions since 1987. Assam is on the top of jumbo casualties due to train-hits since 1987, which amounts to 36 per cent of total casualties. A stretch near Deepor Beel, and a few other areas have proved to be particularly dangerous for the pachyderms.

The Ministries of Railways and Environment and Forests will undertake the project which will use a wireless sensor device developed by the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), New Delhi. Called ‘The Wild Animal Protection System,’ it works by detecting the presence of elephants on the railway track and by triggering a signal to the station master to warn trains to slow down or stop. 

The initiative has been promoted by Animal Equality, an animal rights organisation. Concerned by the accidents and the inability of the authorities to implement effective measures, Animal Equality had sent a communiqué to the Minister of Environment and Forests and Minister of Railways urging them to ‘consider suggestions.’

The suggestions included installation of radar sensors on the train that will detect animals in front of the train and on tracks. In addition it could have an auto-brake function which can be utilised to avoid collision, a press note stated.

“We are thankful to the Ministries of Railways and Environment and Forests for considering the suggestions sent by us. Sensor devices are used by international car companies and it is also used in some trains and ships… the pilot project of the sensor device is expected to be developed by 2015 and will be ready for testing in 2016,” said Amruta Ubale of Animal Equality.

The State Forest Department and animal welfare organisations have intervened in some states and taken measures such as patrolling, electric fencing, installation of signs and hoardings, creating awareness among train drivers, clearing vegetation at blind corners to improve visibility of loco pilots. These appear to have been successful to some extent.

Much, however, needs to be done as trains continue to kill and maim elephants. Now existing measures combined with the Wild Animal Protection System sensor device can prove successful in mitigating elephant deaths.

http://www.assamtribune.com/scripts/detailsnew.asp?id=jun1712/at094

24 jumbo deaths in dry spell

Bangalore, May 28: The Karnataka forest department is grappling with dehydration-related deaths of wild elephants in a reserve forest teeming with pachyderms.The situation is such that 24 elephants have died between January and May this year in the Nagarhole forest, around 230km south of Bangalore.

The post-mortem on the carcasses indicated they died of dehydration-related problems. Only 13 deaths, mostly because of old age, were recorded during the same period in 2011.“Our animal health experts have found that many of these elephants died because of stomach infections after drinking contaminated water,” said chief conservator of forests Ajai Mishra. With the water holes drying up, wild animals, including elephants, drink whatever they find.

The official explanation is that the watering holes dried up for lack of summer rain, which the state usually gets aplenty. But this year’s excessive heat — when even the “salubrious” Bangalore sizzled at nearly 40 degrees Celsius — has only added to the woes of man and animal alike. The state is criticised every year for “poor handling” of water supplies to the people, especially in northern Karnataka where the shortage is acute. But wild animals, entirely dependent on water holes, are left with no alternative but wait for the monsoon.

A recent three-day census of the elephant population in Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Goa and Maharashtra could throw up more details on the numbers, but the death of so many pachyderms in such a short span of time has left the officials worried.An elephant census conducted five years ago had put the all-India number at 27,694. Of this, Karnataka had the most number of elephants, around 5,900. The entire Nilgiri biosphere reserve of nearly 14,000sqkm, which stretches into neighbouring Kerala and Tamil Nadu, is home to nearly 8,000 elephants.

The Nilgiri reserve includes the 640sqkm Nagarhole forest.

However, Ajay Desai, a wildlife expert and former member of a task force on elephants, said there could be other reasons for the deaths. “Elephants, like humans, die of old age and diseases. So we need to keep that in mind. But this year has been extremely bad for wildlife and lack of rain is just one the issues,” Desai told The Telegraph. The severe drought has also affected the regeneration of foliage that elephants feed on.

http://www.telegraphindia.com/1120529/jsp/nation/story_15544957.jsp#.T8S347CO3Ow

They are our heritage

Not so long ago, elephants in India were treated with respect. So, where exactly did we go wrong?

On October 13, 2010, the Standing Committee of the National Board for Wildlife accepted the recommendation given by the 12-member Elephant Task Force — constituted by the Union ministry of environment and forests (MOEF) —that elephants would be given the status of National Heritage Animals.

Still, the suffering of elephants is apparent around the country. Some are kept captive in zoos, some in circuses, some in temples, some used for begging in urban areas, some poached, some made victims of bombs… the list of atrocities inflicted on elephants in India carries on. The question here is: Where exactly did we go wrong. Not so long ago, elephants in India were treated with respect.

Anushree Sahai, who grew up in the tea gardens of Assam, remembers the days when it was common to see elephant herds walking through tea gardens, along roads or hillsides. “You could always tell when a herd had passed by because of the fallen trees. These trees would be the ones that could not bear the brunt of elephantine bodies rubbing against them to relieve itchy backs. Often, when she and her parents would be returning home from neighbouring towns or other tea gardens, they would find elephant herds seated in the middle of the road, hindering traffic, much like cows seated or wandering on city roads today. She and her parents would have to wait till the herd got up and moved away. Sometimes, this could even take till morning.

Cut back to the present: Early January 2012, concerned about the increasing number of elephant deaths around the country, the Karnataka High Court directed the state and Union governments to constitute a task force comprising experts from various fields to specify short-term and long-term steps to look into and prevent elephant deaths.

India has more than 50 per cent of the wild elephant population and about 20 per cent of the captive elephant population of Asia. A survey by Project Elephant in 2000 found a total of 3,400 domesticated elephants: 2,540 privately owned, 190 in temples, 480 with forest departments, almost 150 in zoos and circuses. By 2009, about 700 elephants were in captivity across the state of Kerala: about 260 with the Devaswoms (temples) and 440 individually owned.

Hindus worship Lord Ganesh, the elephant god. There are special pujas only for Ganesh, and no religious occasion is said to be complete without invoking a special prayer for Lord Ganesh. Yet the condition and treatment of elephants in India is anything but god like.

Elephants at temples are traditionally kept shackled with chains attached to a front and a hind leg, sometimes even to three legs. They can lie down, but only with difficulty, and they can move only about one metre forward and backward. They suffer from skin ailments, eye infections, cataracts and diseases of the foot.

Elephants are social creatures, and in the wild, the females live in close-knit family groups. They spend about 18 hours a day walking, feeding, bathing in waterholes and interacting with one another. They are intelligent and sensitive, and they mourn the loss of relatives, just as humans do. Captive conditions fail to provide an interesting, stimulating, rewarding environment for elephants.

In the wild, elephants range over a living space of approximately 200 square kilometres. But in captivity they are confined to a living space of less than 15 square meters each.

The methods used to control elephants are very cruel and threaten the mahouts as well. Hands-on training requires keepers to maintain absolute dominance over the elephants. To achieve this, keepers initially inflict pain on the elephants and then reinforce their dominance by threatening them. This results in confusion and fear and disrupts the elephants’ natural behaviour. Elephants also have a natural desire to challenge other elephants within their group for a higher status as they mature. This can lead to unpredictable bouts of aggression, which are extremely dangerous to keepers and have led to many deaths and injuries.

It is not just captive elephants who suffer. Their free roaming cousins fare no better. Elephants face threats around the country from large-scale habitat degradation, loss of habitat quality, fragmentation, and conflict with humans.

Added to this list is another threat of collisions with trains. According to the report entitled “Gajah — Securing the Future for Elephants in India”, compiled by the task force formed by the MOEF, elephants have been mowed down by trains in states like Assam, Uttarakhand, Jharkhand, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, Kerala and Orissa.

Assam has earned the distinction of having the largest number of elephant deaths as a result of collisions with trains. About 36 per cent of the elephant deaths on rail tracks have been reported in Assam, followed by 26 per cent in Bengal. Around 12 elephants have been killed in the last few years in the Chakardo area near Deepor Beel, close to Garbhanga reserve forest in Assam and since 2003, 19 elephants have been killed by trains in the area of Siliguri Junction-Alipurduar section, which cuts across forests in the Dooars. The reason cited is lack of co-ordination between the railways and the forest department.

Elephants cross railway tracks searching for food, water and forestland for shelter. They face danger from trains each time they do this. To compound this danger, some of the tracks running through the elephant corridors are elevated and curved. The drivers of speeding trains say this makes it difficult for them to see the elephants till it is too late. Trains are supposed to maintain a speed of 20 to 40 km, which they rarely do.

Sadly, most of the deaths keep occurring at the same points, since many elephant corridors go across the tracks. The forest department and the railways have identified 23 such accident-prone areas in Assam alone.

In the worst tragedy ever, seven elephants, including two babies and five adults were killed when they were hit by a speeding goods train in September 2010. The elephants were trying to help two of their babies who were trapped on the tracks in a densely forested area in the northern district of Jalpaiguri, where over 20 elephants had already died in the past one year.

The adults had crowded around the babies to protect them when the train hit them. According to Atanu Raha, chief conservator of forests for West Bengal, “Five elephants died immediately on the track while two others succumbed to their injuries a few hours later.” The surviving members of the herd stayed at the accident scene till the morning, watching and mourning over their dead and injured companions. An elephant was killed by a speeding goods train near Jorhat, Assam, in December 2011. A 30-strong elephant herd came out from the nearby Gibbon Wildlife Sanctuary when the mishap occurred.

Research has revealed that mycobacterium tuberculosis, the bacteria that causes TB can spread to humans from elephants. According to reports, of 387 captive elephants examined for the infection of tuberculosis, 59 elephants (15.24 per cent) were found to be suffering from the disease in south India. Owners of most of these infected animals were not aware of the problem and the elephants were not being provided with medical treatment.

Elephants can also cause other zoonotic diseases like anthrax, mycobacterium bovis (cause of bovine TB which can be passed to humans), poxvirus infection (similar to cowpox) and salmonellosis.

In 2009, the Central Zoo Authority (CZA), after a five-year study by a citizens’ committee, which found zoo life can be profoundly unhealthy for the animals, ordered that almost 150 elephants be removed from our zoos and circuses. Unfortunately, these elephants have had no place to go till now. But with a rehabilitation centre coming up in Bangalore, things might look up for elephants.

Prevention is better

Some very basic measures can be undertaken to help these gentle giants. It should be made mandatory that the trains should maintain a speed of 20 to 40 kilometers per hour while passing through elephant corridors. To ensure this, like in Sri Lanka, all trains running through elephant corridors must carry a forest guard when they pass through that stretch. (A project named The Train Hits Mitigation Project, implemented by the Assam forest department, Northeast Frontier Railways and supported by NGOs, which aim at intensifying patrolling claims that it has stopped almost 80 fatalities from taking place in one year. Patrolling by the team in the Deepor Beel railway stretch near Guwahati averted an accident saving a herd of about 15 wild elephants.)

The government should immediately level the two high-rise spots in the Chakardo area near Deepor Beel, which trap elephants when they come face to face with a train by cutting off their escape routes. The government should also have elevated railway tracks running through elephant corridors. There should be regular patrolling of the areas. Movement of elephants should be immediately passed on to the train drivers in that area so that they can slow down. Signs along the track should be installed warning drivers of elephant corridors. Awareness workshops should be conducted for the railway staff.

Amruta Ubale, Indian representative of Animal Equality, an animal rights organisation from UK, has outlined a number of suggestions to mitigate elephant deaths in a letter add­ressed to the Union minister of rail­ways and environment and forests. This includes installation of radar sensors, which will detect animals (moving or immobile) in front of the train and on tracks. These are commonly known as collision warning systems and are used by car companies like BMW and Volvo internationally.

India’s first-of-its-kind rehabilitation centre coming up in Bangalore, is heralded as a great move for the protection of elephants. It is being set up by Elephant Aid International and Wildlife Rescue and Rehabilitation on 80 hectares, and will provide a refuge to seven former zoo elephants. These rehabilitation centres will teach formerly captive elephants to be semi-wild and live the rest of their lives in a forested setting. Animal activists hope that the government will emulate and set up many such centres.

(The writer is an environmentalist and former head, Peta, India)


http://www.mydigitalfc.com/knowledge/they-are-our-heritage-445 

Plea to freeze elephant as BSP symbol dismissed

NAGPUR: The Delhi high court on Friday dismissed a petition filed by representatives of International Organisation for Animal Protection (OIPA) seeking direction to ban use of national heritage animal 'elephant' as party symbol by the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP).

Naresh Kadyan, the petitioner and India representative of OIPA, affiliated to the United Nations, duly recognized by the Animal Welfare Board of India (AWBI), wanted the court to issue directions to chief election commissioner (CEC) to freeze or replace the symbol of the BSP from elephant to other.
The petitioner also wanted respondent - ministry of environment and forests (MoEF) - to make guidelines and rules for the national heritage animal to protect them from any kind of abuse, unnecessary pain and suffering.

"The Central Zoo Authority (CZA) although imposed a ban on display of elephants, it failed to rescue them. The BSP was abusing national heritage animal elephant during elections by using it live in the party rallies and hence it should be withdrawn as party symbol," said Kadyan.

But, dismissing the writ petition for a ban on elephant as BSP's election symbol, the Delhi high court said, "Elephant does not come under the National Emblems Act (NEA) and hence the writ petition is dismissed." The NEA prevents improper use of certain emblems of government, said Rajender Yadav, counsel for the petitioner.

Kadyan said that under the Wildlife Protection Act 1972, elephants are protected under Schedule I, and hence use of any protected wild animals and their trophies is an offence.

He alleged that BSP candidates use live elephants for parade and campaign and also in victory rallies. Recently, a BSP MP had booked elephants for pride during marriage celebration in Meerut. Due to abuse, the animals went out of control and damaged public property. Same elephants were later rescued and rehabilitated by the authorities.

Similarly, Kadyan said, in 2008, a BSP candidate booked two elephants for campaigning. Besides, elephant is being displayed symbolically on statues in parks along with statues of late Kanshiram and Mayawati. This is being done to gain popularity. "We will appeal in the Supreme Court against the high court order," Kadyan stated.

Let the elephants dance in joy

http://www.dailypioneer.com/columnists/item/50629-let-the-elephants-dance-in-joy.html

Our National Heritage Animal is a victim of abuse and indifference. We need to do more to protect them and provide them a life of dignity. For that, the Government must implement the various recommendations of the Elephant Task Force 

The idea of the elephant”, Arthur Schopenhauer said, “is imperishable”. It is difficult not to concur. These behemoths have fascinated humans throughout the ages. The Arthashastra calls for the protection of not just individual elephants but also important elephant forests it lists. In Buddhism, elephants symbolise the calm majesty of one who is on the path to nirvana. Yet, in India in the 21st century, they suffer gross abuse in captivity and indifference and hostility in the wild.

The hostility stems from growing incidence of man-animal conflict following human encroachment into animal habitats. The constructions of roads and railway lines, the opening of mines, and the drawing of power cables through, forests and across elephant paths, reflect indifference. According to the report of the Elephant Task Force, appointed by the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests and submitted on August 31, last year, “The physical presence of the roads and railway lines in the habitat creates new habitat edges, alters the hydrological dynamics and create a barrier to the movement of elephants and other animals, leads to habitat fragmentation and loss, apart from death due to train and vehicular hits.”

It adds, “Rail and an increase in road traffic operates in a synergetic way across several landscapes and causes not only an overall loss and isolation of wildlife habitat, but also splits up the landscape in a literal sense. Various developmental activities also come up on either side of the highways and railroads, thereby further fragmenting the habitat and increasing biotic pressures.”

Not surprisingly, train accidents have taken a heavy toll. According to the Elephant Task Force’s report, these have killed as many as 150 elephants since 1987. The report further shows the States’ share of these deaths in terms of percentages, which was 36 in the case of Assam and 26, 14 and 10 in the cases of West Bengal, Uttarakhand and Jharkhand respectively.  Tamil Nadu accounted for six per cent, Uttar Pradesh and Kerala three each, and Odisha two.

Measures taken jointly by forest departments and animal welfare organisations in some States to avert such deaths include patrolling, electric fencing, installation of signage and hoardings, levelling of steep embankments, creation of awareness among train drivers and other railway staff, the clearing of vegetation at blind corners to improve visibility for train drivers and so on. There have been some instances of success, such as in Rajaji National Park in Uttarakhand where no elephant has died in train accidents since 2002.  Much, however, needs to be done: Trains continue to kill.

The Elephant Task Force’s report recommends several measures to prevent road and rail accidents. Besides site-specific short and long-term mitigation measures, these include the announcement of the principles of forest area, railway track and highway management, the grant of mining licenses and rules governing the drawing and maintenance of power cables through forest areas.

These are comprehensive but will require time and funds. Meanwhile, the railways themselves can implement some measures relatively soon. Ms Amruta Ubale, Indian representative of Animal Equality, an animal rights organisation in Britain, has outlined a number of steps identified by the organisation in letters to the Union Ministers for Railways and Environment and Forests respectively. These include the installation in trains of radar sensors to detect animals in front and on tracks, determine the train’s distance from these, and can also act as auto-brakes for preventing collisions.

The suggestions also include equipping trains with automatic speed governors which would be activated once trains enter forests where the maximum speed should be 20-25 kmph on even tracks and 40-45 kmph on steep tracts, and installing in them scintillating head lamps with halogen/LED bulbs which would also help illuminate much longer stretches of tracks. Animal Equality has also recommended fitting trains with water cannons to remove animals blocking railway tracks and refusing to budge.

These measures will help, as will regular inspection and repair of power lines running through forests to prevent electrocution of elephants. While implementation of all recommendations of the Elephant Task Force including those against poaching for ivory, will require time, the one for creating a National Elephant Conservation Authority on the lines of the National Tiger Conservation Authority, should be implemented immediately to give an effective centralised direction to the entire process.

Mumbai Auction Raises $750,000 for Indian Elephants

http://www.daijiworld.com/news/news_disp.asp?n_id=119345

Mumbai, Oct 18 (IANS): A collection of African gemstone jewellery fetched $750,000 at an auction here by Sotheby's, part of a fundraising initiative for conservation of Indian elephants, the organisers said.

India is home to about 27,000 wild elephants, which is more than half the Asian elephant population. But experts say they are endangered today due to the shrinking of habitat and man-animal conflict.

The results from last Friday's auction were announced Monday. The gemstones were donated by the Britain-listed Gemfields company, a leading producer of gemstones and a partner of the Emeralds for Elephants initiative. The precious stones, produced in Zambia, were brought to the country to be made into jewellery by 10 selected Indian designers.

"We started working on this project from February onwards wherein we tied up with 10 jewellers across nine Indian cities, as well as contemporary sculpture artist Arzan Khambatta," said Rupak Sen, the company's representative. "The basic objective was to raise awareness for Asian elephants and also crucial funds to protect the elephant corridors," said Sen.

 

The corridors are a conduit for elephants to move between viable habitats that helps facilitate their genetic viability and larger space and food availability.

The Mumbai auction was a follow up of another fundraising event for elephants held in London last year organised by the NGO World Land Trust. Gemfields also participated.

Some 200 life-sized elephant models made up of material such as metal, paper, clay and wood by reputable designers were exhibited across the city. They were later auctioned.

"Since we are a gems mining company we thought we could also probably help this cause. So we got seven of best jewellery designers to make seven pieces of jewellery using our emeralds. "These pieces were displayed in high-end stores in London and then auctioned off. We were able to raise close to 700,000 pounds in less than half an hour," said Sen. 

"India is a very important market for us. About 90 percent of our productions are bought by customers based in Jaipur, one of the biggest hubs for emerald cutting and polishing. "Therefore, we wanted to do something as part of our corporate social responsibility," Sen told IANS on phone. Bollywood actress Madhuri Dixit had joined the initiative in July as its brand ambassador to lend support to the cause. 

Earlier, a nationwide survey by the NGO Wildlife Trust of India (WTI) had identified 88 corridors that needed protection. After which, WTI in partnership with the World Land Trust (WLT) have secured a number of corridors in Uttarakhand, Kerala and Meghalaya.

Securing of corridors involves working closely with the local communities and governments, which renders the entire process time and resource-intensive. Gemfields has pledged to support the World Land Trust and WTI's corridor projects in India.