Some good news came recently, when 5 major conservation organisations (WTI, IFAW, IUCN NL, World Land Trust & Elephant Family) signed a Memorandum of Understanding to raise £20-million for the construction of 100 key elephant corridors.
Elephants move over large areas in India, and do not understand the concept of administrative boundaries. In conjunction with rapid economical growth and development, many elephants find themselves in closer contact to humans. The human-elephant conflict is meant to result in the loss of nearly 400 people and about 50 elephants each year.
Previously, I posted a link to a video by Kalyan Varma, about the reality of dealing with this problem by capturing the straying elephants. This, the most humane solution, is far from ideal.
The construction of more elephant corridors would hopefully reduce the escalation of future conflict. The corridors are essential to maintain bridges between fragmented habitats and permit a safer route for the elephants to move. However, this conflict will persist as for as long as occupy the vast amount of space that we do, and will only get worse as we further encroach into what is essentially their domain as the population and our demand grows.