Identification of Elephants in Conflict with People Using Molecular Techniques, India

This study identified crop-raiding elephants to gain a better understanding of the acute levels of conflict in the Kodagu district of Karnataka. It used molecular techniques to estimate the proportion of crop raiders versus non-raiders, the proportion of habitual raiders versus occasional raiders and the proportion of male versus female crop raiders in the region. Results provided valuable information to devise measures for reducing crop raids such as deterring the few habitual raiders that may be causing most of the damage versus building more barriers if raiding is found to be largely opportunistic. These observations also had wide-ranging lessons for the study of elephant-human conflict, and subsequently, for informing policy decisions across the entire habitat of the Asian and African elephant.

IEF #1015

Project Years: 2014 – 2015

Project Partners:
Center for Ecological Sciences