Assessment of Different Aspects of Elephant Depredation …
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on the household earners. It was evident from the fact that the number of dependants
was almost thrice the number of earners.
The fringes of protected areas and landscapes where such human development and
wild land are intermingled are most prone to wildlife depredation (Treves 2007). This
was very well proved by human–elephants conflict that occurred throughout the year
in the fringe areas of Abhaypur. Conflicting situations between humans and elephants
have also been documented from the periphery of Patheria Hills Reserve Forest in
South Assam and have been found to exert severe impacts (Dutta et al. 2018). The
same can be mentioned with respect to elephant depredation in the studied villages.
Consequences of human–elephant conflict can be direct or indirect. Direct impacts
have effects upon the physical and economic well-being whereas indirect impacts
exert social consequences upon people (such as fear, hampering of normal activities,
costs etc.) (Parker et al. 2007).
Widespread paddy loss was an important facet of elephant depredation in the villages. This had a severe negative impact upon the socio-economic conditions because
agriculture was an important means of livelihood for the villagers. Due to severe elephant raids, villagers decreased paddy cultivation near the reserve and this led to land
abandonment. Several residents even completely quit agriculture and instead made
wages. This was well understood by the fact that in course of five years, about 45%
of the households suffered from severe crop raid and consequently the ownership of
agricultural land that was actually cultivated fell down to about 30% (see results).
Thus, the elephants moved beyond the fringe areas to additional sites in pursuit of
paddy. Greater movement to distant paddy fields through human settlements resulted
in a higher intensity of conflicts on the way. Severe paddy depredation by elephants
has also been reported form the vicinity of Manas National Park and Biosphere
Reserve, Assam (Nath et al. 2009). Besides, in the fringe villages of Abhaypur large
home gardens abundant in fruit trees also attract elephants.
The climate of Assam is highly suitable for tea production (Arya 2013) and a
common practice in response to paddy depredation was to covert paddy fields into
tea plantations. However, this needed initial investment and all villagers were not
financially capable of arranging the required capital. Small tea gardens yielded a
steady income. Apart from this, many incidents of human attacks (limb, chest and hip
injury) and property damage also occurred, which resulted in economic consequences
on the economically weak rural population. Even human death, which is the ultimate
form of human–wildlife conflict (Gurung et al. 2008), had also taken place. A reason
for this could be the local wine production and consumption, the smell of which is
often stated by the general public to attract elephants into human settlements and
drunken individuals. Thus, as a whole, it can be agreed with Jadhav & Barua (2012),
who stated that the wellbeing of marginalized people is severely affected by human–
wildlife conflicts. Images 1 and 2 depict the pictures of elephant depredation around
Abhaypur.
Residents in the fringe villages had widely different opinions about the size of
elephant population inside the Reserve Forest as well as the herd size of conflict
elephants. However, a significant majority identified habitat loss as the reason of
elephant depredation. Thus, it was precise that the visual perception of the emerging
259
on the household earners. It was evident from the fact that the number of dependants
was almost thrice the number of earners.
The fringes of protected areas and landscapes where such human development and
wild land are intermingled are most prone to wildlife depredation (Treves 2007). This
was very well proved by human–elephants conflict that occurred throughout the year
in the fringe areas of Abhaypur. Conflicting situations between humans and elephants
have also been documented from the periphery of Patheria Hills Reserve Forest in
South Assam and have been found to exert severe impacts (Dutta et al. 2018). The
same can be mentioned with respect to elephant depredation in the studied villages.
Consequences of human–elephant conflict can be direct or indirect. Direct impacts
have effects upon the physical and economic well-being whereas indirect impacts
exert social consequences upon people (such as fear, hampering of normal activities,
costs etc.) (Parker et al. 2007).
Widespread paddy loss was an important facet of elephant depredation in the villages. This had a severe negative impact upon the socio-economic conditions because
agriculture was an important means of livelihood for the villagers. Due to severe elephant raids, villagers decreased paddy cultivation near the reserve and this led to land
abandonment. Several residents even completely quit agriculture and instead made
wages. This was well understood by the fact that in course of five years, about 45%
of the households suffered from severe crop raid and consequently the ownership of
agricultural land that was actually cultivated fell down to about 30% (see results).
Thus, the elephants moved beyond the fringe areas to additional sites in pursuit of
paddy. Greater movement to distant paddy fields through human settlements resulted
in a higher intensity of conflicts on the way. Severe paddy depredation by elephants
has also been reported form the vicinity of Manas National Park and Biosphere
Reserve, Assam (Nath et al. 2009). Besides, in the fringe villages of Abhaypur large
home gardens abundant in fruit trees also attract elephants.
The climate of Assam is highly suitable for tea production (Arya 2013) and a
common practice in response to paddy depredation was to covert paddy fields into
tea plantations. However, this needed initial investment and all villagers were not
financially capable of arranging the required capital. Small tea gardens yielded a
steady income. Apart from this, many incidents of human attacks (limb, chest and hip
injury) and property damage also occurred, which resulted in economic consequences
on the economically weak rural population. Even human death, which is the ultimate
form of human–wildlife conflict (Gurung et al. 2008), had also taken place. A reason
for this could be the local wine production and consumption, the smell of which is
often stated by the general public to attract elephants into human settlements and
drunken individuals. Thus, as a whole, it can be agreed with Jadhav & Barua (2012),
who stated that the wellbeing of marginalized people is severely affected by human–
wildlife conflicts. Images 1 and 2 depict the pictures of elephant depredation around
Abhaypur.
Residents in the fringe villages had widely different opinions about the size of
elephant population inside the Reserve Forest as well as the herd size of conflict
elephants. However, a significant majority identified habitat loss as the reason of
elephant depredation. Thus, it was precise that the visual perception of the emerging