Will wild elephants in Kerala undergo the famous South African
immuno-contraception to put brakes on growing elephant population in
the state? While neighbouring state Karnataka has decided to go ahead
with the birth control technique to deal with the rising man-elephant
conflict, Kerala is yet to consider it on the ground that such
contraception is not required and it might also trigger unnecessary
controversy.
“We are preparing an action plan to deal with the rising man-elephant
conflict and are considering all possible measures. But we will not be
opting for the immuno-contraception technique to cut down elephant
population in the state. We do not want to create unnecessary
controversy,” said Principal Chief Conservator of Forests and Chief
Wildlife Warden G Harikumar. According to the officer, there was no
need to go for such a contraceptive procedure in Kerala because the
wild elephants were not breeding exponentially compared to other
animals. “A female elephant during her life span will give birth to
maximum four elephants, which is not much alarming,” he added.
As per an estimate prepared for the period 2010 and 2015, eight people
were killed in wild animal attacks in Wayanad district alone while the
total number of cattle loss stood at 408. Extensive damage to crops
were also reported with 4,157 instances and the government disbursed
`60 lakh as compensation for the damages.