Elephants in the neighborhood: patterns of crop-raiding by Asian elephants within a fragmented landscape of Eastern India.

ABSTRACT: Loss of forest cover, rise in human populations and fragmentation of habitats leads to decline in biodiversity and extinction of large mammals globally. Elephants, being the largest of terrestrial mammals, symbolize global conservation programs and co-occur with humans within multiple-use landscapes of Asia and Africa. Within such shared landscapes, poaching, habitat loss and extent of human-elephant conflicts (HEC) affect survival and conservation of elephants. HEC are severe in South Asia with increasing attacks on humans, crop depredation and property damage. Such incidents reduce societal tolerance towards elephants and increase the risk of retaliation by local communities. We analyzed a 2-year dataset on crop depredation by Asian elephants (N = 380) events in North Bengal (east

SUBMITTER: Naha D 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7335499 | biostudies-literature | 2020

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature