forested habitats heavily used by elephants, and in areas where elephants cross from
forests to agricultural areas during their foraging movements. There is probably also a
high risk of collisions in corridors that are used when animals move/migrate among
forest patches, including the Reti Reserved Forest (RF)-Moraghat RF, Reti RF-Diana
RF, Neora RF-Apalchand RF (Roy and Sukumar 2015).
It is not certain whether the observed mortality from collisions with trains has
any significant impact on the local elephant population, but it is worth noting that
train accidents from 2004 to 2013 were responsible for causing about 25% of the
224 elephant deaths recorded in northern West Bengal. This compares with a
population size of 674 elephants estimated for northern West Bengal in 2015 (West
Bengal Forest Department 2015), suggesting that there may indeed be some negative effects. As mentioned, the elephant population in this region has been
increasing over the past three decades. Although northern West Bengal accounts for
only 2.3% of the free-ranging elephant population in India, it is part of a much
larger elephant population (about 2,700–3,000 animals) of the North Bank landscape (of the Brahmaputra River) that shares a contiguous habitat with Bhutan in
the north and Assam in the east (Chowdhury and Menon 2006).
The impact of these accidents is very significant, Trains have to stop, elephants
have to be removed, carriages may be damaged, etc. Due to these railways–elephant
accidents revenue loss was estimated all over India Rs. 69,675.97 cores from
freight and Rs. 28,645.52 cores (Nayak 2013).
Management Implications
Together with other studies (Singh et al. 2001; Sarma et al. 2006), our work clearly
shows that elephant mortality due to collision with trains is a significant problem
that urgently needs to be resolved. Addressing this issue requires that collision risks
be duly considered in “environmental impact assessments,” both when developing
new railway projects, and when improving the operational characteristics of extant
ones (e.g., changes from meter to broad gauge). These studies should assess the
spatial and temporal patterns of elephant abundance, movements, and activity,
thereby identifying areas where the risk of collision is high and new railway lines
should not be laid. Where new lines are unavoidable, or where lines are already in
operation, efforts should be targeted to mitigating impacts by implementing measures such as fencing, bridges, under- or overpasses, and local topography
adjustments, among others. These processes should be conducted by technically
qualified agencies in close collaboration with local and regional stakeholders,
including government, NGOs, and the general public. It is also important that
monitoring be put in place–in both the construction and exploration phases–aiming
at the early detection of unanticipated impacts, and for assessing the efficiency of
mitigation and compensation measures (Inell et al. 2003).
Along railway lines where collisions with elephants are frequent, such as in our
study area, measures should be put in place to reduce the risks and thus avoid
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M. Roy and R. Sukumar
forests to agricultural areas during their foraging movements. There is probably also a
high risk of collisions in corridors that are used when animals move/migrate among
forest patches, including the Reti Reserved Forest (RF)-Moraghat RF, Reti RF-Diana
RF, Neora RF-Apalchand RF (Roy and Sukumar 2015).
It is not certain whether the observed mortality from collisions with trains has
any significant impact on the local elephant population, but it is worth noting that
train accidents from 2004 to 2013 were responsible for causing about 25% of the
224 elephant deaths recorded in northern West Bengal. This compares with a
population size of 674 elephants estimated for northern West Bengal in 2015 (West
Bengal Forest Department 2015), suggesting that there may indeed be some negative effects. As mentioned, the elephant population in this region has been
increasing over the past three decades. Although northern West Bengal accounts for
only 2.3% of the free-ranging elephant population in India, it is part of a much
larger elephant population (about 2,700–3,000 animals) of the North Bank landscape (of the Brahmaputra River) that shares a contiguous habitat with Bhutan in
the north and Assam in the east (Chowdhury and Menon 2006).
The impact of these accidents is very significant, Trains have to stop, elephants
have to be removed, carriages may be damaged, etc. Due to these railways–elephant
accidents revenue loss was estimated all over India Rs. 69,675.97 cores from
freight and Rs. 28,645.52 cores (Nayak 2013).
Management Implications
Together with other studies (Singh et al. 2001; Sarma et al. 2006), our work clearly
shows that elephant mortality due to collision with trains is a significant problem
that urgently needs to be resolved. Addressing this issue requires that collision risks
be duly considered in “environmental impact assessments,” both when developing
new railway projects, and when improving the operational characteristics of extant
ones (e.g., changes from meter to broad gauge). These studies should assess the
spatial and temporal patterns of elephant abundance, movements, and activity,
thereby identifying areas where the risk of collision is high and new railway lines
should not be laid. Where new lines are unavoidable, or where lines are already in
operation, efforts should be targeted to mitigating impacts by implementing measures such as fencing, bridges, under- or overpasses, and local topography
adjustments, among others. These processes should be conducted by technically
qualified agencies in close collaboration with local and regional stakeholders,
including government, NGOs, and the general public. It is also important that
monitoring be put in place–in both the construction and exploration phases–aiming
at the early detection of unanticipated impacts, and for assessing the efficiency of
mitigation and compensation measures (Inell et al. 2003).
Along railway lines where collisions with elephants are frequent, such as in our
study area, measures should be put in place to reduce the risks and thus avoid
170
M. Roy and R. Sukumar