Elephants reclaim lost corridor in Kerala

By: Jose Louies

"It looked like a battlefield". Coconut palms hanging at a tilt. Prostrate jack fruit trees with gashes in the trunk as if someone had repeatedly stabbed them, with exposed roots clawing the air in fright. A heap of branches mixed with mud where a coffee plantation seemed to have once stood. And a criss-cross of hoof marks, foot prints, moulds of elephant dung and deep depressions in the paddy fields where elephants & wild boar had wallowed. They all sent a clear message: "This is our home and trespassers will be suitably dealt with."

Night Visitor, A tusker raiding the new feeding ground

It was just two weeks since the Thirulakunnu "human" settlement in the proposed Tirunelli-Kudrekote elephant corridor, in the southern Indian Kerala state, had been relocated and to my pleasure, and surprise, the wildlife was already moving in, as if quickly reclaiming something that was rightfully theirs. The people had moved after being provided alternative land and houses by the Wildlife Trust of India (WTI) with support from the Wild Lands Trust of UK and IUCN Netherlands Committee. The land was now being used not only by elephants, but also by other animals such as gaur, sambar and wild boar. Some of the taller trees adjacent to the paddy fields still had observation posts, which were once used as watch towers to scare away animals in the night.

Close encounters: The solitary bull on the road side.

Sabu Jahas, WTI's senior field officer, broke my reverie with a curt whisper: "Don't dream, and be careful. There is a solitary bull elephant roaming around here. He hides behind the bamboo clumps and then takes unsuspecting visitors by surprise."Across the paddy field the last house of the settlers was still there as the people were transporting their luggage to the new settlement.

Sabu told me that the house will be demolished within a few days and then the little stream flowing near the house will be taken over by wild animals as the summer is at the peak. For generations, a large portion of the land was used by the settlers for cultivation of paddy and vegetables, since water was available even in summer. As the surrounding areas are thickly forested, conflicts with wild herbivores were a part of life.

A picture from the past !!; This house is no more there, the Settlers are moved to alternative area.

However, as the human population expanded and "encroachments" on the forest land increased, more and more wild animals came down to the agricultural fields to claim a free lunch.


Studies conducted in the past by elephant experts such as Dr. P.S Easa, a Sr. Director with WTI, strongly favoured relocation of villages to facilitate free movement of animals in the corridor, which would minimize conflicts. This was the first settlement to be relocated and we were back there to see the results.

The sound of a cracking bamboo broke the silence. One of the villagers told us that it could be the solitary bull waiting for us to leave so that he could come to his favourite water hole. "The elephants have stayed put for the last few days and wait for the nightfall to come in. Earlier they were prevented by trenches, electric fences, walls and fire crackers, which of course were mild deterrents, but today even these are no longer there and the animals are completely free," he added. I wanted to see a herd of elephants, but this was not my day.

"Look, I change colors"

But there was a pair of calotes which was constantly changing color, keeping us riveted. We spotted an Indian roller, cattle egret & a crow pheasant. A White breasted kingfisher had already started making a nest in the mud wall of an abandoned house.

It was our autorickshaw driver, who showed us the Gaur grazing at the far end of the field. At last I was watching a larger wild animal in the land that we had returned to them. Just a few weeks ago it would have been chased away with fire crackers and slings by the villagers who were on 24x7 vigil.

It was an adult bull, enjoying the evening breeze in the comfort of knee deep mud, fully aware of our presence, but not afraid.

"The seen and un seen" , WIldlife in the abandoned paddy field.

Pix credit: Dr. P S. Easa / Jose Louies