The synchronised elephant census held across Tamil Nadu in May this year recorded direct sightings of 16 elephants in the Dindigul Forest Division, which has a projected population of 26.
Biologists B. Ramakrishnan and G. Sivasubramanian say the census result affirms findings of their study published in 2021, which states that these elephants made the division their home turf by migrating over the years from Chinnar Wildlife Sanctuary of Kerala and the Anamalai Tiger Reserve (ATR), Tamil Nadu, possibly after a gap of about 200 years.
“Historical records as old as 200 years show that compensation had been awarded for crop damages and human casualties caused by wild elephants in Dindigul district. But the elephant presence vanished due to various reasons over the years, possibly due to anthropogenic disturbances and habitat degradation. They started making movements towards the Dindigul division through the Palani Hills Northern Slopes Reserved Forests from 2006,” says Sivasubramanian who now heads the Department of Wildlife Biology at Kongunadu Arts and Science College, Coimbatore.
