Conservationists have hit upon a novel plan to monitor the movement of wildlife from their natural habitat in the Kaziranga National Park to nearby human habitations during flood.
The Wildlife Trust of India and the Elephant Family, two environmental organisations, have engaged young volunteers from nearby villages to monitor the movement of animals, especially elephants, along the Kaziranga-Karbi Anglong corridor, the regional head of International Fund for Animal Welfare-Wildlife Trust of India, Bhaskar Choudhury, said.
"This is to ensure that they do not enter human habitations," Chowdhury told PTI.
The project, titled "Corridor Monitoring" was aimed at understanding the status of displaced animals during the annual calamity and provide adequate protection to them in distress and the volunteers, called Green Corridor Monitors, will keep an eye on animal movement, especially elephants.
The monitors have also been instructed to report about any wild animal in distress in flood-affected areas, according to Chowdhury.
The volunteers have been given hands-on skill development training on Global Positioning Systems (GPS) at the Centre for Wildlife Rehabilitation and Conservation (CWRC) near the Kaziranga National Park, conservationist Pranjit Kumar Sarma said.
This training was to ensure safety of elephants passing through the notified corridors of Kaziranga-Karbi Anglong landscape and is supported by Assam Forest Department and Karbi Anglong Autonomous Council (KAAC), he said.
With the famous park flooded, most of these animals head to high ground for survival in the Karbi Anglong district and in doing so they pass through human habitations that bring them in conflict with the locals, Choudhury said.
This often leads to a negative interaction between man and animal wherein the latter becomes a victim of human ire more often.
