Hula parties not working well to drive away elephants. Local mobs taking over the effort

On Independence Day this year, a herd of six elephants, including two calves, found themselves trapped in a nightmare.The animals were surrounded by a heavily armed mob as they tried to return to a nearby reserve forest in West Bengals Jhargram...

Despite burgeoning human-wildlife coexistence challenges in the area, the management of elephants is outsourced by the state forest department tohulapartiescomprisinglocal youth with flaming torches and spears, who are ill-equipped to manage a herd of elephants...

Thetopcourt also recommended that flaming torches be used sparingly, with the forest department leading the effort, stating: As an emergency measure, under the direct control of the Forest Department,mashaalsmay be used for the time being only to avoid any deaths and crop damage that may take place and ensure the proper movement of elephants in the corridors..

While the forest department typically focuses on the animals alone, the police, district administration, and experienced local volunteers need to play crucial roles in crowd control as well.. Elephants navigating human-dominated landscapes are constantly seeking safe passage..

It must rest on the pillars of long-term population monitoring of elephants, proactive conflict mitigation measures by forest departments as opposed to reactive ones, solutions based on rewarding tolerance where it exists, fairly compensating for the loss of livelihoods, and implementing adaptiveandinclusive policies in shared spaces...

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