Inedible crops to keep jumbos away

NAINITAL:IN a bid to keep rampaging elephants away from raiding crops and vegetation in Ramnagar and to check the increasing conflict with humans, the state forest department is considering growing “inedible or less preferred” plants close to forest boundaries around the Corbett tiger reserve, officials said. According to a 2011 report by Bangalore-based Asian Nature Conservation Foundation, growing unpalatable crops over a 1km wide area along the park boundary can reduce crop-raiding.

The report, ‘Action Plan for the Mitigation of Elephant-human Conflict in India’, also pointed out that about 40 to 50 elephants are killed in country every year.