Protecting Endangered Elephants by Following in the Footsteps of The Jungle Book …

Kirsty with an orphaned elephant. See a larger image here. (Use your back button to return.)

A Journey to the Wild Lands of Garo Hills, India

In November 2004 Kirsty Burgess, the World Land Trust's Projects Co-ordinator, made a two-week visit to the Wild Lands Elephant Corridor, located in the wilds of the Garo Hills, where Kipling set the scene for his classic, The Jungle Book. Here is Kirsty's story:

Simsang River, showing one of the crossing points used by the elephants. See a larger image here. (Use your back button to return.)

Project background - Saving India's endangered elephants

The Wild Lands Elephant Corridor Project, launched by the World Land Trust (WLT) in September 2003, aims to connect two existing nature reserves in order to help the survival of the endangered Indian elephant, a species sensitive to forest fragmentation.

A year later, a considerable amount of the necessary funds have been raised and the project, managed by WLT partners – Wildlife Trust of India (WTI), is now in full swing.

The Wild Lands of Garo Hills

During my visit to the corridor, I was able to appreciate just how appropriate the name “Wild Lands” was to the corridor location. Accompanied by Dr. Sandeep Tiwari (WTI Senior Programmes Officer), it took me a full days drive from the nearest airport to arrive at Bagmara, the closest small town, followed by two hours drive on roads of very poor condition the next day. But it was worth it. The Garo Hills are incredibly picturesque, and with around 80% forest cover, and there is hot steaming jungle as far as the eye can see, filled with calls of many birds and home to an abundance of other wildlife, including the Indian Elephant, Leopard and primates such as the Hoolock Gibbon and Capped Langur.

Areas of forest cleared by ‘slash-and-burn‘ are evident around Arthika Village. See a larger image here. (Use your back button to return.)

Developing alternatives to slash-and-burn

Walking through the corridor site, I was able to see first hand the damage that is being caused by “slash-and-burn” farming, but also how local people living within the corridor depend on this type of agriculture for survival. The projects directly involves the Arthika Village, a community who WTI plan to assist in developing sustainable incomes such as bee or poultry keeping, with the end goal to reduce their dependence on the natural forests. Through discussions with WTI and local forestry officials, it became apparent that although the Garo Hills boasts such a wealth of forest resources, now is the time to put such initiatives into practice – before the inevitable population growth causes the irreversible loss of precious habitats.

The work in Garo Hills will continue – with your help

I also visited other protected areas within Meghalaya and Assam, including the nearby Balpackram National Park, and further afield, Kaziranga National Park, where I was stunned by the numbers and variety of wildlife present.

To save India's endangered elephants your help is still needed. Funds are required to ensure that the Wild Lands Elephant Corridor is protected and fully restored to a flourishing habitat for wildlife. – Initiatives such as the Wild Lands Elephant Corridor are essential in assuring the survival of its species.

Make a donation to the Wild Lands Elephant Corridor project here.

More Information on the Wild Lands Elephant Corridor Project

To learn more about the India project visit the main project page: Help Save the Indian Elephants.

The Jungle Book in Garo Hills

Read the full story "Toomai of the Elephants" from The Jungle Book here. Or, for a printer friendly version, download the acrobat file below:

Toomai of the Elephants (136KB) (opens in new window)
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