Project Tiger and Project Elephant

Context:

Centre’s move on merging Project Tiger and Project Elephant is in contravention of the earlier decision of the National Board for Wildlife.

About Elephants:

 Asian Elephants  African Elephants  
Sub species3 subspecies: Indian, Sumatran and Sri Lankan.  2 subspecies: Savanna (or bush) elephant and Forest elephant  
Protection StatusIUCN Red List: Endangered.
WPA, 1972: Schedule I.
CITES: Appendix I  
IUCN Red List Status:
African Savanna Elephant: Endangered.
African Forest Elephant: Critically Endangered
CITES: Appendix II  

Asian Elephant vs. African Elephant

Government Initiatives:

Project Elephant:

  • Launched in 1992
  • Aim: To provide financial and technical support to wildlife management efforts by states for their free ranging populations of wild Asian Elephants.
  • Centrally Sponsored Scheme (CSS)
  • Elephant Census:
    • Conducted once in 5 years (Last Census in 2017)
    • Under the aegis of Project Elephant.
    • Karnataka has the highest number of elephants, followed by Assam and Kerala.

Seed Bombs – Casting seed balls (or bombs) inside different reserve forest areas to enrich food stock for wild elephants to prevent man-elephant conflict.

Gaj Yatra:

  • A nationwide campaign launched on the occasion of World Elephant Day.
  • Ministry: Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change
  • Led by – Wildlife Trust of India.
  • Idea: “Journey celebrating India’s national heritage animal”
  • Aim: To secure 100 elephant corridors across India.
  • Objective: To cover elephant range states to provide ‘Right of Passage’ on elephant corridors in India.

World Elephant Day is an international annual event on August 12, dedicated to the preservation and protection of the world’s elephants.

Monitoring of Illegal Killing of Elephants (MIKE) Programme:

  • Established by a CITES Resolution adopted at the CoP10 in 1997.
  • An international collaboration that measures the levels, trends, and causes of elephant mortality.
  • 10 MIKE Sites (Elephant Reserve – ER) in India Chirang-Ripu ER, Dihing Patkai ER, Eastern Dooars ER, Deomali ER, Garo Hills ER, Mayurbhanj ER, Shivalik ER, Mysore ER, Nilgiri ER and Wayanad ER.

Project RE-HAB:

  • Reducing Elephant-Human Attacks using Bees
  • Aim – To create “bee fences” to thwart elephant attacks in human habitations using honeybees.
  • Implementing Agency: Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC).
  • Sub-mission of KVIC’s National Honey Mission.
33 Elephant Reserves in India (As on August 2023)
StateElephant Reserve (ER)
Andhra Pradesh (1)Rayala ER
Arunachal Pradesh (2)Kameng ER
South Arunachal ER
Assam (5)Sonitpur ER
Dihing-Patkai ER
Kaziranga – Karbi Anglong ER
Dhansiri-Lungding ER
Chirang-Ripu ER
Chhattisgarh (2)Badalkhol-Tamorpingla
Lemru ER
Jharkhand (1)Singhbhum ER 
Karnataka (2)Mysore ER
Dandeli ER
Kerala (4)Wayanad ER
Nilambur ER
Anamudi ER
Periyar
Meghalaya (1)Garo Hills ER
Nagaland (2)Intanki ER
Singphan ER
Odisha (3)Mayurbhanj ER
Mahanadi ER
Sambalpur ER
Tamil Nadu (5)Nilgiri ER
Coimbatore ER
Anamalai ER
Srivilliputtur ER
Agsthyamalai ER
Uttar Pradesh (2)Uttar Pradesh ER       
Terai ER
Uttarakhand (1)Shivalik ER
West Bengal (2)Mayurjharna ER
Eastern Dooars ER
States with maximum number of ERs: Assam and Tamil Nadu (5)

Click here to read more about Project Tiger

Source: The Hindu


Previous Year Question

With reference to Indian elephants, consider the following statements:
1. The leader of an elephant group is a female.
2. The maximum gestation period can be 22 months.
3. An elephant can normally go on calving till the age of 40 years only.
4. Among the States in India, the highest elephant population is in Kerala.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
[UPSC Civil Services Exam – 2020 Prelims]
(a) 1 and 2 only
(b) 2 and 4 only
(c) 3 only
(d) 1, 3 and 4 only

Answer: (a)


Practice Question

Consider the following statements:
1. Elephant Census in India will be conducted once in 5 years under the aegis of Project Elephant.
2. According to 2017 Census, Kerala has the highest number of elephants and Maharashtra has the least number of elephants.
Which of the statement(s) given above is/are correct?

 
 
 
 

Question 1 of 1

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