Nawegaon-Nagzira Tiger Reserve

The Maharashtra government is awaiting a nod from the Centre for what would be the state’s first elephant reserve, a year after tabling a proposal for it.

Authorities from the Nawegaon-Nagzira Tiger Reserve located in Maharashtra’s eastern Vidarbha region had drafted a proposal in August 2023 to declare over 1,400 square kilometres in Gondia and Gadchiroli districts as an elephant reserve. The proposal was channelised via the Principal Chief Conservator of Forest (PCCF), Maharashtra.

The decision to have a dedicated elephant reserve was taken after pachyderms from Chhattisgarh and Odisha were spotted crossing over into Maharashtra in 2021. The animals returned in 2022. Since then, a small population has been moving around the region.

Some experts, however, told Down To Earth (DTE) that the two dozen elephants in the region at the moment are not a viable population for it to be declared a reserve. Others countered this, stating that the move would help conserve the species, which is expanding and recolonising its range.

Differing voices

Aritra Kshettry, WWF-India Lead (elephant conservation), said Asian elephants in India are expanding and recolonising parts of their historic distributional range in Central India, a region that had wild elephants till the 1900s.

“From 2000 onwards, elephants slowly expanded their range from Odisha into Chhattisgarh and the population in the state increased from 24 animals in 2000 to 279 in 2021,” he told DTE.

The numbers are still changing as there is constant movement of individuals from Chhattisgarh. Kshettry estimates that the population would be somewhere between 20 and 30 individuals, most of them in the Gadchiroli and Gondia districts that is connected to the Chhattisgarh population. Further, there are some individuals in the Sindhudurg and Kolhapur districts of Maharashtra, which are connected to elephant populations in Karnataka.

Kshettry said the recent and gradual expansion of elephants into Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, and Maharashtra can be traced back to Odisha. “This influx, coupled with population growth, led to a steady increase in elephant range in Chhattisgarh with gradual expansion into Madhya Pradesh and now Maharashtra,” he explained.

He added that though the elephant population in Maharashtra is currently low, it is expected to grow, given that other mega-herbivores are absent and forested habitats are available. New births in this population, along with more elephant migration from Chhattisgarh will also add to elephant numbers.

Conservation planning for wide-ranging species like elephants demands a landscape approach, according to Kshettry. This encompasses multiple protected areas, reserve forests and agricultural mosaics. The Central Indian landscape provides conducive habitats for elephants, with a network of Protected Areas.

But others contend that Maharashtra is not yet ready for an elephant reserve of its own.

Raman Sukumar, elephant expert and professor at Bengaluru’s Indian Institute of Science (IISc) said having an elephant reserve requires a viable population and habitat. “For now, it seems the elephant population is moving and not settled,” he said.

Sukumar added that elephants are known to enter Maharashtra from northern Karnataka. “However, human-elephant conflict has not allowed these elephants to have a safe space. There have been multiple reports of elephants being electrocuted. They thus have not had a stable ground to establish themselves,” he said.

The expert said human-elephant conflict and habitat feasibility should be considered before a reserve is declared.

Kshettry, however, said stakeholders such as the forest department, local communities, local administration, and conservation organisations need to work together in new range areas to ensure that elephant presence is compatible with the safety of local people.