Agasthiyamalai Elephant Reserve

Source: The Hindu

Why in News?

Recently, the Government of India has announced the notification of one more Elephant Reserve (ER) Agasthiyamalai in Tamil Nadu during a programme in the Periyar Wildlife Sanctuary in Kerala.

This will be the 32nd Elephant Reserve in the country after Singphan ER in Nagaland was notified in 2018.

Agasthiyamalai is Tamil Nadu’s 5th Elephant Reserve and also a Bioshphere Reserve.

What do we need to know about Indian Elephant?

About:

It is also known as “Elephas maximus”.

Location:

• Central and Southern Western Ghats
• North East India
• Eastern India
• Northern India
• Some parts of Southern Peninsular India.

Protection Status:

IUCN Red List: Endangered

CITES: Appendix I

Wildlife Protection Act 1972: Schedule I

Statistics in India:

The population of elephants in India has reached up to about 27,312 (2017 Census).

Karnataka had the highest number of elephants (6,049), followed by Assam (5,719) and Kerala (3,054).

What is Project Elephant?

About:

It is a centrally sponsored scheme and was launched in February 1992 for the protection of elephants, their habitats and corridors.

The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change provides financial and technical support to major elephant range states in the country through the project.

Objectives:

• To protect elephants, their habitat & corridors
• To address issues of man-animal conflict
• Welfare of captive elephants