Chester Zoo wins award for work with Assamese elephants

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British zoo's work in Assam wins major wildlife award

London | November 22, 2007 11:05:06 AM IST

 

 

An innovative Chester Zoo project that uses smoke bombs comprising chilli

powder to ward off marauding elephants from human habitation and crops in

Assam was awarded the field conservation award at this year's annual BIAZA

awards on Wednesday evening.

 

Charles Walker, MP, presented the prestigious conservation and wild life

awards at the Marwell Zoological Park in Hampshire on behalf of the British

and Irish Association of Zoos and Aquariums (BIAZA).

 

BIAZA is a conservation, education and scientific wildlife charity

organisation founded in 1966 out of a mutual desire within the zoo and

aquarium community to see sound principles and practices of animal

management widely adopted in the British Isles and Ireland.

 

Called the Assam Haathi Project, Chester Zoo's work in Assam on elephant

conservation helps to mitigate human-elephant conflict. This work supports

the conservation of one of the last remaining large elephant populations in

the area and also the local people.

 

A BIAZA commendation went to Blackpool Zoo, also for elephant conservation,

this time in Sri Lanka, involving habitat protection. Chester Zoo also

received the best new enclosure award for their new forest area for Asian

elephants.

 

Miranda Stevenson, director of BIAZA, said: " The award-winning programmes

under the spotlight today demonstrate the huge investment of energy and

resources made by our leading zoos to support habitat and species

conservation.

 

" Conservation within zoos and aquariums is a vital part of the work to

protect threatened species and to help change public behaviour and ensure

the future of Planet Earth. These awards recognise and celebrate the vital

contributions that our members are making to conservation and education each

year. Equally, they are standard bearers for excellence in animal husbandry

and welfare. "

 

Chester Zoo teamed up with the Assam-based conservation organisation,

EcoSystems-India, and developed the Assam Haathi Project. The project works

closely with local people, monitoring elephant movements and gaining a

better understanding of their habits and needs in order to design practical

solutions for the crop-raiding problem.

 

The project documents state that the overall aim is to facilitate the

sustainable co-existence of elephants and people in the human-dominated

landscape of Assam. The project hopes to achieve this through an integrated

approach using community-based work and geographical and behavioural

research.

 

The project's paper states: " Keeping an elephant out of one's backyard

involves a combination of barriers, deterrents and early-warning systems.

The type of mitigation method used depends on the circumstances at each

site.

 

" We have begun to develop trials of non-lethal elephant control techniques

such as tripwire alarms as an early warning device, and chilli smoke as a

deterrent. These are low-cost methods that use locally available materials.

 

" Currently, we are also investigating the practicalities of temporary

electric fencing for selective protection of homesteads during high-risk

periods. "

 

The project uses Geographical Information System (GIS) computer software to

track the movement of elephant herds and develop a sound knowledge of the

elephants' behavioural patterns.

 

By helping communities tackle their elephant crop raiding problems and

safeguard their livelihoods, the project aims to increase tolerance and

reduce the persecution of elephants.

 

" The data gathered may also help other conservation organisations and

authorities implement long-term strategies and policies for elephants and

other wildlife in Assam.

 

Reports from Assam say that wild elephants have killed over 600 people in

the state in the past 16 years. In 2001, in the state's Sonitpur district,

villagers reportedly poisoned 19 wild elephants to death after they feasted

on crops and trampled houses.

 

The BIAZA awards celebrate a year of achievements and ingenious solutions

made by zoos and aquariums across Britain and Ireland. The winning projects

have been selected against strict criteria. The assessors include external

experts as well as professionals from within the zoo community.

 

(IANS)