TAG: GS 3: ECOLOGY AND ENVIRONMENT
THE CONTEXT: The Tamil Nadu Forest Department has launched a comprehensive three-day elephant census at the Sathyamangalam Tiger Reserve (STR).
EXPLANATION:
- This initiative aims to gather detailed data on the elephant population within the reserve, contributing to better wildlife management and conservation strategies.
Sathyamangalam Tiger Reserve
- Sathyamangalam Tiger Reserve is a protected area and tiger reserve located along the area straddling both the Western Ghats and Eastern Ghats in the Erode District of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu.
- The Sathyamangalam Forest Division is part of the Bramhagiri-Nilgiris-Eastern Ghats Elephant Reserve notified in 2003.
- In 2008, part of the Sathyamangalam Forest Division was declared a wildlife sanctuary and enlarged in 2011, it covers a forest area of 1,411.6 km2 (545.0 sq mi).
- It is the largest wildlife sanctuary in Tamil Nadu.
- In 2013, an area of 1,408.6 km2 (543.9 sq mi) of the erstwhile sanctuary was notified as a tiger reserve.
- It was the fourth tiger reserve established in Tamil Nadu as a part of Project Tiger and is the third largest in the state.
- The reserve is a significant ecosystem and a wildlife corridor in the Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve between the Western Ghats and the Eastern Ghats and a genetic link between the five other protected areas which it adjoins, including the Billigiriranga Swamy Temple Wildlife Sanctuary, Sigur Plateau, Mudumalai National Park, Bandipur National Park and the Cauvery Wildlife Sanctuary.
- The reserve covers parts of Sathyamangalam and Gobichettipalayam taluks of Erode District in north western Tamil Nadu.
- Terrain: It is hilly and undulated with altitude ranging between 750m and 1649m.
- Vegetation: It consists of southern tropical dry thorn forests, mixed deciduous forests, semi-evergreen forests, and Riparian forests.
- Flora: Common Species of trees and shrubs found are Albizziaamara Chloroxylonswictenia, Gyrocarpusjacquini, Neem, Tamarind, Sandalwood, Randi dumetorum, Zizyphus and associates.
- Fauna: The major species are Elephant, Tiger, Panther, Sloth bear, Gaur, Black Buck, Spotted deer, Wild boar, Black napped hare, Common langur Nilgirilangur, Striped neck mongoose and Bonnet macaque.
Status of Elephants in India
- India has the largest and the most stable population of Asian elephants. India is home to more than 60% of all wild Asian elephants.
- The number of 29,964 elephants were registered in the most recent elephant census, which was conducted in 2017.
- 31 elephant reserves exist in India. Dandeli Elephant Reserve of Karnataka, Singphan Elephant Reserve of Nagaland, and Lemru Elephant Reserve of Chattishgarh have been established in the past three years by respective states.
- As a result, there is now around 76,508 sq km of elephant reserves spread throughout 14 states in India.
- As per the Elephant Census conducted in 2017, Karnataka has the highest number of elephants (6,049), followed by Assam (5,719) and Kerala (3,054), respectively.
Indian elephant:
- The Indian elephant (Elephas maximus indicus) is one of three extant recognized subspecies of the Asian elephant, native to mainland Asia.
- The species is smaller than the African elephant species with a convex back and the highest body point on its head.
- The species exhibits significant sexual dimorphism with a male reaching an average shoulder height of about 3.2 m (10 ft) and weighing up to 5,400 kg (11,900 lb) whereas a female reaches an average shoulder height of about 2.54 m (8.3 ft) and weighs up to 4,160 kg (9,170 lb).
- It has a broader skull with a concave forehead, two large laterally folded ears and a large trunk. It has grey colored smooth skin with four large legs and a long tail.
- The Indian elephant is native to mainland Asia with nearly three-fourth of the population found in India.
- The species is also found in other countries of the Indian subcontinent including Nepal, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Myanmar and South East Asian countries inlcuding Thailand, Malaysia, Laos, Cambodia, and Vietnam with small populations in China.
- It inhabits grasslands, dry deciduous, moist deciduous, evergreen and semi-evergreen forests across the range.
- The species is classified as a megaherbivore and consume up to 150 kg (330 lb) of plant matter per day.
- They consume a variety of diet depending on the habitat and seasons and might include leaves and twigs of fresh foliage, thorn bearing shoots, flowering plants, fruits and grass.
