By IANS
Bhubaneswar : The elephant population in the tribal dominated and mineral rich Keonjhar district of Orissa is dwindling fast, from 130 in 1995 to 51 in 2007.
According to forest department sources, in the 1995 census, 130 elephants were counted in the district, but in the 2007 census the number was reduced to 51.
In 1999, there were 75 elephants and the figure had gone up to 112 in 2002. But after the district was divided into two administrative divisions in 2005, Anandapur and Keonjhar, the elephant population was soon reduced to 69 and then to 51.
“Indiscriminate mining, rapid industrialisation and deforestation are factors responsible for their dwindling population. These factors have adversely affected the elephant habitat,” said Bibhuti Patnaik, an activist working for wildlife and environment.
The busy traffic and blasting in mines close to their habitat are responsible for driving elephants away. As the wild elephants move out of their forest homes they also fall prey to ivory poachers.
They are also killed in accidents. Recently, two female elephants were mowed down by a speeding train near Bansapani railway station, about 350 km from Bhubaneswar. Environmentalists and wildlife enthusiasts described the incident as shocking.
Some wild elephants go on a rampage through farms and end up being poisoned by angry villagers.
“Since 2001, as many as 47 elephants have died in Keonjhar district,” said Prafulla Kumar Acharya, range officer of Champua forest range.
“Both the centre and the state government should give priority to wildlife conservation issues, before they plan any industrial activity in the area,” Biswajit Mohanty, secretary of an NGO called Wild Orissa, told IANS.