List of Elephant Reserves in India

Introduction:

Elephant Reserves are places in India where wild elephants have been protected from poaching. These reserves are now the best hope for the future of this endangered species. India has 32 elephant reserves, which is about a third of its total land area and includes what is known as Project Elephant, an initiative that was conceived to safeguard these animals by reintroducing them into their old habitats. The initiative aims to bring back at least 100 elephants from captivity into the wild every year and it requires engaging with people who live near natural elephant habitats — educating locals on how they can coexist with these gentle giants and providing support in maintaining these areas. The topic of elephant Reserve and Project Elephant, its aim and objective are very common for competitive exams like Banking, SSC, RRB, Insurance and other government exams.

What is Project Elephant?

Project Elephant was initiated by the Government of India, Ministry of Environment and Forests in 1992. The government of India launched this project with the main objective to save the endangered elephants and increase their population in the wild.  The project is an important milestone towards elephant conservation as it was a major step towards raising awareness regarding the protection and conservation of elephants. The project also aimed at preventing poaching, curbing illegal trade of elephant parts along with creating an action plan for each state to form a closer nexus between the forest department and other departments such as tourism for effective management of their elephant population.

What are Elephant Reserves?

Elephant reserves are areas where elephants have been identified by the Parks and Wildlife Department of the Indian Government to protect them from being poached or killed by any other means. The reserve areas are declared as sanctuaries for elephants. The government of India has formed several elephant reserves in the country with an aim to protect elephants from poaching and increasing wild numbers.

Why is Project Elephant Important?

Like other species, elephant populations are also decreasing day by day. You cannot deny the fact that it is a very crucial issue to protect elephants from poaching or any other threat. The Government of India has been taking steps to save this endangered species and this article not just provides you with knowledge but also offers you great ways of preparing for your competitive exams like Bank PO, SSC, RRB, Postal and more. It will help you in analysing the importance of Project Elephant along with some important facts regarding its management and its aim.

What are Elephant Reserves?

Elephant reserves are areas where elephants have been identified by the Parks and Wildlife Department of the Indian Government to protect them from being poached or killed by any other means. The reserve areas are declared as sanctuaries for elephants. The government of India has formed several elephant reserves in the country with an aim to protect elephants from poaching and increasing wild numbers.

What are Elephant Corridors?

An elephant corridor is a continuous passageway which connects multiple elephant reserves. This corridor comes under the Elephant Conservation Action Plan (ECAP) project of the government of India. With an aim to protect elephants and their habitat along with protecting the corridors connecting different parts of India, the government has begun identifying potential corridors on a regular basis to identify potential threats in these areas.

These corridors have been identified as important areas for elephant conservation, and they are known as one of the major factors in preventing loss of genetic population by connecting them with other countries where elephants are found in larger numbers such as Sri Lanka and Nepal.

What are the threats to Elephant Corridors?

Many threats are faced by elephants in their natural habitats. Elephants are highly vulnerable to poaching as nearly 95% of the elephant hunting incidents in India took place in protected areas. Loss of habitat is also another problem faced by the elephants as they need large areas to roam freely and search for food and water sources. Elephants are also killed by invading humans during their migration, following natural disasters and during conflicts like droughts and floods among others.

List of all Elephant Reserves in India:

Below is the list of 32 Elephant Reserves in India:

Conclusion:

As you conclude from the article, elephant reserves and Project Elephant aims to safeguard these animals from total extinction. The project involves many departments like Forest Department, Wildlife department, Government of India and even local communities can help in this initiative. Over 1/3rd of the country’s land area has been identified for elephant reserves and over 2,400 elephants were reintroduced into the wild after being rescued from poachers.