Font Size 
Man vs animal: A wild battle for existence in Assam
Published on Wed, Apr 30, 2008 at 09:05, Updated at Wed, Apr 30, 2008 in Sci-Tech » Science section
Tags: Environment, Poaching , Guwahati
CALL OF THE WILD: Two elephants died recently in Assam because of man-animal conflict issues.
Other stories in the section:
TERI creates oil zappers to clean-up toxic sludge
Dr Banwari Lal, a scientist at TERI has initiated the creation of oil-eating bugs.
Guwahati: A 22-year-old female elephant recently dislocated its hip joint after falling 30 feet into a swampy pit in Assam's Karbi Anglong district. In agony for five days after being pulled out, it finally succumbed.
In another incident, an elephant was hit by a train when it tried to save its calf stuck between the railway tracks.
Not just elephants, a leopard was recently battered to death by residents of Sivasagar district in upper Assam. It had strayed into the town and attacked four people before being killed.
The conflict between man and animals is becoming commonplace in Assam as encroachment increases.
"We human beings don not treat the animals right. It's only when we provoke them that they retaliate,” says wildlife expert, Parbati Baruah.
Baruah points out there’s a huge gap between concern for wildlife and actually translating those concerns into workable solutions.
"The people in wildlife committees should dedicatedly give time on the field. Or else we won't get results. One cannot do Project Tiger sitting in Delhi or Guwahati,” she says.
Conservation of animals is becoming difficult for the forest department as poaching is on an increase in the Northeast.
Training programmes to spread awareness hold key to preventing incidents like these but the state’s flagship elephant project has just Rs 1.5 crore as funds to implement this.
More Headlines from Science
| Related links: | |
Total Comments: 3
Read Comment | Post Comment
Zoo authority,forest department and police etc may tackle the conflict.
Read Comment
The government has to give real thought to wild life protection and poor human beings also. the poachers get away
Read Comment
The only problem is with indisciplined reproductive habit of humans. Unless human beings give up their cockroach like reproductive habit
Read Comment
Read more comment »