Institute for Natural Resources Conservation, Education, Research and Training, (INCERT), Bangalore was founded in 2000 by Dr Yellappa Reddy, whose is now the chairman of Bangalore Environment Trust (BET). The leading researcher S. Sridhar is also a trustee of BET. A small note on both Dr Yellappa Reddy and S. Sridhar is at the end of the post
INCERT has been studying the man-elephant confrontation in and around Bannerghatta national Park since the mid-nineties. Its investigative report prepared under the aegis of Dr Yellappa Reddy is reproduced here with the permission of the author. It contains some basic facts about the park as well. No changes have been made to the original.
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The Elephant has been an integral part of our history, mythology, religion and culture. Since times immemorial, eloquent references are made in a number of ancient literatures of the subcontinent. Elephants have been embellished in rock carvings of Pallavas and Hoysalas. The imperial elephant stables of Emperor Akbar are believed to have housed 32,000 pachyderms. Their number during his son Jahangirs realm is said to have gone up to as much as 1,30,000!
The Asian elephants are presently spread over 13 countries. In terms of numbers - the existing population is between 34,000 to 54,000 and is declining alarmingly. The entire Asian elephant population is less than 10% of its African counterpart.
