KATHMANDU, Sept 20: Experts have said that the elephants in the country could become extinct if appropriate plans and strategies are not developed to conserve them.
They say that the elephant population in the country is being affected due to the decrease of the natural habitat and scarcity of its food for their survival. The national parks in Terai have been known to be the natural habitat of the elephants. An elephant needs at least 250 square kilometers of area.
As encroachment of natural habitats is increasing to develop human settlement, many of the elephants have found their ways into some settlements unknowingly, experts say.
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Elephants use the traditional route used by their parents to look for food and to mate with other elephants. They are found entering human settlements and destroying property and farmlands that have been set up in their traditional routes.
There are currently 19 elephants in the Koshi Tappu conservation area. As there is only 175 square kilometers of area for 19 elephants of Koshi Tappu, this has become one of the main reasons to trigger man-animal conflict in the region.
As a result of this, the risk of the loss of human life has increased in recent years. Experts said there is a need to develop appropriate strategies in the region from the government for the conservation of the country's elephants.
According to the Chief Warden of Koshi Tappu Conservation Area, the local and the provincial government should also make efforts to conserve elephants.
Koshi Tappu Conservation Area was established to preserve mainly the wild buffalos in 1975. Although the conservation area was established to preserve the wild buffalos, works to preserve the elephants and endangered birds are also being carried out. For the past few years, the conservation area has shifted its focus toward managing the man-elephant conflicts.
