A 2018 report from World Wildlife Fund says that around four lakh + elephants live in the world. The land area of Coimbatore district and the size of an elephant certainly looks bigger when seen close but when we see them from a distance, let us say from the bird’s eye view from the sky, they will appear quite small. Okay just keep this bird’s eye view aside for minute.
This year, more than 300 elephants died in Botswana, Africa and the cause of their death is due to cyanobacteria (toxins) present in water according to the Government there.
In an article related to this issue, The Hindu says “Cyanobacteria are microscopic organisms common in water and sometimes found in soil. Not all produce toxins but scientists say toxic ones are occurring more frequently as climate change drives up global temperatures.” More than 300 elephants died in this year alone from one African country. Note this number.
On September 2020, Outlook said four elephants in Jaipur died in the past 6 months (Between March and September). The cause was that they did not have enough physical activity.
These elephants used to give rides to tourist and climb Amber Fort area. Now due to lack of tourism these elephants were kept in enclosures. They died because of lack of movement, indigestion and other physical ailments due to idleness. Jaipur had 103 elephants but now it is 99.
On May 27, a pregnant elephant died near Kerala’s Valliyar River area after it consumed explosive-laced fruit. The fetus also died because of this explosion.
The way it stood in the water, suffocating from the blast was cruel and painful to see. This was partly due to humans’ misdeed.
In Coimbatore, a 35-year old female elephant was shot in the ear by two men in early 2020, and the lead pellet took the giant’s life away after it pierced through its brain. The men shot the elephant because it entered their agricultural field.
This incident took place in Coimbatore’s forest region where 14 wild elephants have already died this year. The News Minute posted a data that, 127 elephants have died in the Coimbatore division between 2011 and 2019.
Very recently, that is, on October 14, 2020, a 10 year old female elephant was found dead in Manimuthur Dam in Western Ghats. Forest officials say that due to mouth infection, the animal should have faced difficulties in consuming food. After Post-Mortem, the cause of death will be made available.
Now let us bring that bird’s eye view again into perspective. The total number of elephants according the earlier mentioned report is 4 lakh+. The total death of elephants mentioned in this article, though seems small number is still a loss to the planet and its eco-system. Is it not?
Such majestic creatures they are, yet they are dying more. The list we have seen is small but if we could get data about elephants killed by poachers and other causes, it would be huge.
Death cannot be controlled. In some cases it occurs due to natural causes but we can stop climate change and we can end Man-Animal Conflict by devising perfectly working and peaceful solutions.
It is just deeply saddening to see these elephants die, especially at a time when the world too is in peril.