Wayanad Wildlife Sanctury

                                                 Wayanad Wildlife Sanctury

Why in News?

Recently, in a Human-Animal Conflict, a local man was attacked by an Elephant and a herd of elephants raided a field, near Wayanad Wildlife Sanctuary, Kerala.

 

About the Wayanad Wildlife Sanctuary:

1. Located in Kerala, Wayanad Wildlife Sanctuary (WWS) is an integral part of the Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve. It was established in 1973.
2. Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve was the first from India to be included in the UNESCO designated World Network of Biosphere Reserves (designated in 2012).
3. Other wildlife parks within the Reserve are:

Mudumalai Wildlife Sanctuary

Bandipur National Park

Nagarhole National Park

Mukurthi National Park

Silent Valley

4. It is spread over 344.44 sq km, Wayanad Wildlife Sanctuary is contiguous to the tiger reserves of Nagerhole and Bandipur of Karnataka and Mudumalai of Tamil Nadu.
5.  Kabini river (a tributary of Cauvery River) flows through the sanctuary.
6. The forest types include South Indian Moist Deciduous forests, West coast semi-evergreen forests and plantations of teak, eucalyptus and Grewelia.
7. Elephant, Gaur, Tiger, Panther,Sambar, Spotted deer, Barking deer, Wild boar, Sloth bear, Nilgiri langur, Bonnet macaque, Common langur, Wild dog, common otter, Malabar giant squirrel etc are the major mammals.

What is Human-Animal Conflict?

1. These conflicts arise out of the struggles, due to the direct threat of presence or behaviour of wildlife to human interests or needs.
2. These often lead to disagreements between groups of people and negative impacts on people and/or wildlife.
3. Human-animal conflict has become a serious wildlife management problem in Kerala in the last few years. People living on the fringes of reserve forests and sanctuaries have a heightened sense of insecurity now.

Causes of Human Animal Conflict:

1. Human population expansion
2. Habitat degradation and fragmentation
3. Land use transformation
4. Rising densities of livestock in protected areas

 

What is the Conservation Status of Elephants?

1. International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of threatened species:

• African Forest Elephant- Critically Endangered
• African Savanna Elephant- Endangered
• Asian Elephant- Endangered

2. Convention of the Migratory species (CMS): Appendix I
3. Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972: Schedule I

 

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