Elephant Corridor Report 2023
2023 SEP 4
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About Elephant Corridors of India 2023 Report:
- Centre has identified over 60 new corridors used by elephants for movement between two habitats, taking the total number of identified passages across the country to 150.
- Previously there were 88 Elephant Corridors.
- West Bengal has the highest number (26) of identified elephant corridors in India, accounting for over 17 per cent of all the passages.
- The report mapped 150 elephant corridors in 15 states, categorizing them into four geographic regions: northern, northeast, east-central, and southern.
- About 84 per cent (126) of the identified elephant corridors occur within the state boundaries.
- About 13 per cent (19) are interstate elephant corridors that extend into two or more states. There were six transnational corridors between India and Nepal.
- Approximately 40% of mapped corridors have seen an increase in elephant movement, with some regions showing stability.
- Elephants have expanded their ranges in regions like Vidarbha, southern Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, and northern Andhra Pradesh.
- Despite habitat rejuvenation efforts, 10% of elephant corridors have become impaired over the years, due to factors like increased human activity.
- 15 corridors have lost functionality due to various factors, including anthropogenic pressure.
- 29 corridors (19% of the total) have recorded a decline in elephant usage, primarily due to encroachment, mining, and infrastructure development.
About Project Elephant:
- It was launched by the Government of India in the year 1992 as a Centrally Sponsored Scheme with following objectives:
- To protect elephants, their habitat & corridors
- To address issues of man-animal conflict
- Welfare of captive elephants
- The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change provides financial and technical support to major elephant range states in the country through the project.
Conservation Status (Asian Elephant):
- IUCN Red List: Endangered
- CITES: Appendix I.
- Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972: Schedule I.
Elephant Corridor:
- Corridor is a strip of land that facilitates the movement of elephants between two or more viable habitat patches.
- Corridors are directly beneficial in buffering wildlife populations from the perils of habitat fragmentation, they have become a cornerstone for wildlife conservation across the globe.
PRACTICE QUESTION
UPSC 2020
With reference to Indian Elephants, consider the following statements :
1. The leader of an elephant group is a female.
2. The maximum gestation period can be 22 months.
3. An elephant can normally go on calving till the age of 40 years only.
4. Among the States in India, the highest population is in Kerala.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct ?
(a) 1and 2 only
(b) 2 and 4 only
(c) 3 only
(d) 1,3 and 4 only
Answer
