Here's How Uttarakhand's Intelligent Elephants Are Dismantling Electric Fences to Gain Access to Food Crops

S
stenews
Sat, May 21, 2022 1:57 AM

Here's How Uttarakhand's Intelligent Elephants Are Dismantling Electric
Fences to Gain Access to Food Crops
The Weather Channel
May 20, 2022

It is an established fact that elephants are among the more intelligent
animals, but we probably never imagined that they would give humans a run
for their money in the reasoning department.

According to forest officials, elephants from the Corbett Tiger Reserve in
Uttarakhand are crossing over to Bijnor and adjoining villages by
intelligently destroying a 5 km-stretch of electric fence erected to keep
them confined to the reserve.

Anil Kumar Patel, Bijnor, divisional forest officer, said, "The electric
fence earlier prevented elephants from crossing over to villages on this
side of the border, but the pachyderms have now devised a way to
'dismantle' the electric fences."

He said that the elephants first break branches of trees and throw them at
the fence till the fence is broken. Then they cross over to the other side
to enjoy sugarcane and other crops, which brings them into direct conflict
with humans.

Patel said that the villagers had informed them about how the elephants
were destroying the fences with tree branches.

"Fencing, therefore, is no longer an option with these smart animals now.
We will seek funds to erect a strong wall," he said.

More than two decades ago, in 2000, when Uttarakhand was carved out of
Uttar Pradesh, a 10 km-long, seven-foot-high and a two-foot-wide wall was
constructed by the Uttarakhand government to separate farms from the
Corbett forest area.

This wall covered a substantial patch of ground from Kalagarh in Corbett to
Amangarh.

Then the Uttar Pradesh government constructed a wall that went on for
another 2 km, but lack of maintenance over the years resulted in the wall
crumbling, leaving gaps that led to wild animals sneaking in and destroying
crops.

https://weather.com/en-IN/india/biodiversity/news/2022-05-20-elephants-are-dismantling-electric-fences-to-gain-access-to-food

Here's How Uttarakhand's Intelligent Elephants Are Dismantling Electric Fences to Gain Access to Food Crops The Weather Channel May 20, 2022 It is an established fact that elephants are among the more intelligent animals, but we probably never imagined that they would give humans a run for their money in the reasoning department. According to forest officials, elephants from the Corbett Tiger Reserve in Uttarakhand are crossing over to Bijnor and adjoining villages by intelligently destroying a 5 km-stretch of electric fence erected to keep them confined to the reserve. Anil Kumar Patel, Bijnor, divisional forest officer, said, "The electric fence earlier prevented elephants from crossing over to villages on this side of the border, but the pachyderms have now devised a way to 'dismantle' the electric fences." He said that the elephants first break branches of trees and throw them at the fence till the fence is broken. Then they cross over to the other side to enjoy sugarcane and other crops, which brings them into direct conflict with humans. Patel said that the villagers had informed them about how the elephants were destroying the fences with tree branches. "Fencing, therefore, is no longer an option with these smart animals now. We will seek funds to erect a strong wall," he said. More than two decades ago, in 2000, when Uttarakhand was carved out of Uttar Pradesh, a 10 km-long, seven-foot-high and a two-foot-wide wall was constructed by the Uttarakhand government to separate farms from the Corbett forest area. This wall covered a substantial patch of ground from Kalagarh in Corbett to Amangarh. Then the Uttar Pradesh government constructed a wall that went on for another 2 km, but lack of maintenance over the years resulted in the wall crumbling, leaving gaps that led to wild animals sneaking in and destroying crops. https://weather.com/en-IN/india/biodiversity/news/2022-05-20-elephants-are-dismantling-electric-fences-to-gain-access-to-food