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4. The River Elephants

The story of a herd of 150 elephants (now 70-80) that came to be marooned on the river

islands of the Brahmaputra between Majuli (Jorhat) and Dehingmukh (Dibrugarh) in the

early 2000s because of massive deforestation on the North Bank of the Brahmaputra

and the construction of the NHPC dam on the Subansiri, cutting off their access to their

lowland ranging and feeding grounds in the foothills. A tragic story of a homeless herd,

and the equally tragic price that has to be paid by the people living on Majuli island and

the south bank of the river across these three districts where the elephants destroy

crops, property and human life. A cautionary tale about the unforeseen impacts of

deforestation and unplanned development projects on wildlife and humans.

Photo: River elephant footprints dot the Panidehing Bird Sanctuary where they find rest during the day and emerge to raid crops in adjacent villages at night during the winter harvest season.

In the late 1990s, a herd of elephants began appearing and staying on the

Brahmaputra. Previously only one or two males were known to occasionally roam the

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river islands and make forays onto the island of Majuli and villages on the southern

bank in central Assam. When the herd of about a 150 elephants, with a few handsome

tuskers among them, began to trample up and down the villages situated along the

Brahmaputra, between the districts of Jorhat and Dibrugarh, neither elephants nor the

people were prepared for the long drawn out escalation that would follow.

Both villagers, forest staff and wildlife researchers working in different were baffled.

Where had they come from? There were two likely sources – Kaziranga on the west of

the area, the theory being that the protection had resulted in too many elephants and

this herd had moved out in search of new areas to occupy. A parallel suggestion was

that they could just as well have come from Dibru-Saikhowa National Park to the east of

this stretch. In 2012, hopes were raised when the forest department did a concerted

effort to drive the herd ‘back into’ Kaziranga, using koonkis or trained elephants to afford

the villagers some degree of relief. Within a few days, the elephants exited Kaziranga

and returned determinedly to the river islands and their crop-raiding. The forest

department was at its wit’s end.

During a casual discussion with Dipen Kalita, expert elephant catcher, the subject of the

river elephants came up. He categorically stated that they were ‘Arunachal elephants’,

recognisable from their build – the kumura bandha haatis or the ones ‘barrel-shaped,

like pumpkins’. As opposed to the various other body types that elephants may be

recognised by such as the mirika bandha (mirika fish shaped) or the Naga elephants. In

village after village, from Kokilamukh to Dehingmukh, the confluences of the southern

tributaries with the Brahmaputra, many believed the same – these elephants were from

Arunachal. Journeying to the northern bank of the river, another piece of the story

seemed to fall in place. In Dhemaji and Lakhimpur, there is a small group of crop-raiding

elephants, about 25-30 – believed to be the remnant of a much larger group. They still

join up occasionally. This was a population that would have formerly roamed across the

north bank of the Brahmaputra, from Sonitpur to Dhemaji, including the foothill forests of

Arunachal Pradesh.

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NGO volunteer Dhruba Das, who has tried to track these elephants off and on, draws a

western limit of Sisimukh on the North Bank, down to Shikari Chapori on the south at

Golaghat, eastward to Medela of Dibrugarh, and perhaps a little further east.

Much like the story of the elephant and the blind men, the story of the river elephants

falls together from the accounts of elephant researchers at Tezpur, an NGO activist and

filmmaker in Lakhimpur, conservation volunteers and farmers and victims in Jorhat,

Sibsagar and Dibrugarh districts. Accounts point to two distant events – the construction

of the Subansiri Dam damaging the lowland Subansiri Reserve Forest, and the

deforestation precipitated by the internal migration and encroachment during the Bodo

insurgency of the 1990s – that pushed these hapless elephants into the river to be

condemned to ‘homelessness’, and the hapless people on the Brahmaputra’s banks, to

bear the brunt of the resultant conflict.

Hiten Baishya, Coordinator, Elephant Conservation

WWF-India

We are on the north bank of the Brahmaputra. The entire north was at one time jungle,

and elephants used from the northern hills to the Brahmaputra. At that time, there were

no settlements or agriculture, and elephants could find all their necessities – from food

to social interactions. Gradually, human settlements and opening of tea plantations led

to disturbance to movements of elephants. They then began to use specific routes to

the Brahmaputra through the tea estates or along rivers. In the time since I started

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working here in 2001, I have seen an old elephant route between Sonai-Rupai WLS to

Singri Hills and the Brahmaputra become blocked by new human settlements, with the

Chariduar RF below Sonai-Rupai becoming completely encroached. Similarly, the

Panpur corridor between Nameri NP and Kaziranga NP; and the Laimekuri corridor in

Dhemaji from West Siang to Brahmaputra; and the Poba RF – Kobo PRF corridor

between Arunachal Pradesh and Dibru-Saikhowa NP have been compromised. While

there is still some elephant movement, in the last 10-15 years elephants have

encountered many obstructions at these corridors due to human activity. Another

elephant corridor between Dulung RF and Subansiri RF was well-used until 2001, but

has now been entirely blocked by settlements and the large developmental project, the

Subansiri Hydroelectric Project at Gerukamukh. Since elephants are intelligent animals

and learn how to survive in changed circumstances, they are still moving around and

surviving. But if corridor blockages continue and worsen, then their movement on

historical pathways to, and along the Brahmaputra, will probably be permanently

disrupted.

When we mention disruptions to elephant movement, we have to mention Majuli and its

adjoining areas. In the last few years, elephant-human conflict has taken on a

frightening severity. Majuli was not known as elephant habitat. The first elephant was

recorded in 1997, and by 2003 they had increased to 20. After 2003, over 70 elephants

appeared there and ever since, these elephants have been living on the river islands

east of Kaziranga all the way to near Panidehing Bird Sanctuary in Sibsagar. They

move between river islands and the people who live in that area face the brunt of the

resultant serious human-elephant conflict throughout the year - with crop loss, damage

to houses and property and human deaths. Elephants have also had to pay with their

lives. If we look back, we can correlate the beginning of conflict in Majuli to the busiest

time in construction of the Subansiri dam in 2001-2003. Although we do not have radio-

telemtery data, from our experience we can say that disruption of natural corridors must

have a good deal to do with the Majuli conflict. Now the Brahmaputra river islands are

also occupied by humans. Naturally then, if people live where elephants do, somewhere

or the other conflict is inevitable. In this way, the Brahmaputra which was once the

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realm of elephants where they foraged and roamed, has now become an arena of

conflict.

Photo: The Subansiri Dam, construction of which has damaged a large swathe of the foothill Subansiri Reserve Forest and disrupted elephant movement leading to elephant-human conflict in places further afield.

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David Smith, Elephant team, WWF-India

The North Bank Landscape is in the Himalayan foothills areas between the Sankosh

and Dibang rivers. There are an estimated 2000 elephants here, and there has been a

traditional movement of the elephants from the north to the Brahmaputra river islands,

now through villages and tea plantations. For example, in the winter there is a group of

about 80-100 elephants that moves from Behali and Singlijan Reserve Forests to the

Brahmaputra via the Buroi and Borgang rivers in the dry season. On the way they raid

crops and the harvest is done, they reach the chaporis (river islands) and stay there for

a few days. On the chapori, they rest during the day and at dark emerge to eat the

crops in the villages. The conflict has increased over the years. We’ve seen that they

are starting to stay longer in the chaporis. Where before they would stay a month or

two, now they stay 4-6 months. The herds are also bigger. We think that this is because

of the disturbance to the forests in the north, the elephants feel safer on the chaporis.

Recently, in the last two years or so, we have seen a new trend of elephant poaching

for meat in the Behali and Singlijan areas.

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Map: Extant elephant movement areas in the North Bank Landscapeand key corridors. Source- Elephant conservation in North Bank landscape, North-east India. Areas, WWF-India. 2003.

Bikul Goswami, Age: 52 years, NGO Green Heritage

North Lakhimpur

I have lived all my life in Dhemaji and Lakhimpur. The entire area was an elephant

habitat, their feeding grounds. When NHPC built a large wall, the elephants were

obstructed in their movement. Before that was also the large scale deforestation on the

north bank and settlement of peope. The migration pattern of the elephants between the

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river and foothills have been disrupted. They do not forget their feeding grounds, that is

why the conflict now.

Jadav Payenge, Farmer

Kokilamukh, Jorhat

“From 2011, I have only been planting elephant food plants in about 2000 ha. The

elephants stayed here this monsoon for a whole month in the new plantation. This herd

of elephants have no fixed home. They go to Arunachal, 6 months in the south, 6

months in the north, live in the heart of the Brahmaputra. Here they roam in the

grassland and water, they raid crops and food of the people who live on the chaporis.

But it is not their fault, humans are at fault. The other day in Sonitpur, I saw there are

many places where plantations can be made for these elephants. How much does a

human eat? 250 gms of food? And for that how much area do they occupy? Elephants

need 3 quintals of grass, 90 litres of water and they need to move between Arunachal

and Kaziranga, but humans have settled in their path. So it is not the fault of the

elephants. Since this herd does not have a home, I requested the Minister of Forests to

grow plantations to help reduce conflict. Every creature has the right to live.”

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Photo: Neamatighat, Majuli island in the background. Elephants walk along this

embankment road on left.

Madhab Das, 35 years, Tea shop owner & Sushil Das, 40 years, Villager

Nimatighat, Jorhat

The elephants, approximately 150 in number, started coming here to Nimatighat about

13 years ago. They come from the eastern side of the Brahmaputra and stay for about

10 days, to feed on our paddy crops. Just two weeks ago a makhna (tuskless male

elephant) killed two persons at Jhanjhimuk and Hatikhal Biharigaon. From here they

move up and down to Majuli, and shelter on the chaporis.

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Ananta Dutta, Secretary, NGO Keteki

Jhanjhimukh, Sivasagar

Historically, elephants used to come down to Jhanjhimukh to reach the Brahmputra

from the Naga Hills on the south. During the great 1950 Assam earthquake, however,

this area was buried and the jungle completely destroyed. The river elephants have

been passing through Majuli, but until 30-35 years ago there was jungle. It was only

when people started clearing the jungle and settling there that the conflict started.

Earlier, they used to only occasionally break huts in the khutis (cattle camps), but now

there are village settlements and the elephants destroy those.

These are the ‘oghori hatis’ (homeless elephants.). They are the ones that have come

out badly from this conflict. Just this year, some 15 elephants have been shot at and

killed in retaliation. Two died on the river mud in front of my eyes. There are many

young calves in this herd.

Dijen Bora, Age – 32 years, NGO Dolphin,

Dikhowmukh, Sivasagar

The elephant herd that roams here first came in 2001, and we estimated about 40

elephants then. When people shout and make noise, they move away. Since then

elephants have been coming every year. Now people say there are 150 elephants, but

we estimate it is between 70-80 elephants. There are many small calves in the group.

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One or two very large elephants mainly move alone and we encounter them

occasionally. The elephants come from Nimatighat and Jhanjhimukhin the west and

within the night they move along the side of the chapori here to a Mising village ahead

of here where they destroy their rice paddy. We heard that recently one elephant tried to

break down a bamboo wall, but moved away when it was chased. We have seen

houses broken and utensils crushed by elephants. The elephants use this route all the

way to Disangmukh and Sitolia. Government compensation for crop damage is not easy

to access. If that process could be expedited, then at least some of the conflict between

humans and elephants could be mitigated. Secondly, the way we grow crops is

something that can be changed. Our main crop now is paddy and elephants target this

crop – eating what they can and stamping and destroying the rest, which is many

months of labour of the people. Perhaps growing alternative crops might help reduce

this conflict.

Durgiram Yein, Age – 60, Villager

Disangmukh, Sivasagar

In our Afala village, there were no elephants here before 2002, they came from the hills

somewhere. Since 2002, elephants have been disturbing our crop-fields during the

months of August to November till the paddy is harvested. We chase the elephants and

somehow we are surviving. We cannot kill or eat or use force against them really, it is

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such a large animal and it would be illegal. (Thirty years ago, a poor man’s cows were

eaten here by a big cat. A shikari came and shot it dead in retaliation. The next day the

local villagers cut up and ate the cat. In the end, the police caught the poor man and the

shikari and took them off to the police station, and the villagers later brought them

back.) So we can only leave it to the government to solve this issue for us, since they

own the elephants. We don’t hate the elephants. They stay on the chaporis and we

know they will come at night to eat our crops and our young boys can only prepare to

chase them with some noise-making and shouting, nothing more.

When I was young, I have seen many gharial, tiger and jackal on the Brahmaputra, but

not wild elephants. Those have appeared only now. Now the river has become shallow.

Even 30 years ago, we would see the gharials basking in the sun, but as the river

became shallow they went to deeper waters, to the sea maybe.

Eyang Gam, Age – 26, Dolphin Conservation Network Volunteer

Disangmukh, Sivasagar

Elephants have been coming to Afala, Disangmukh for the last 12 years or so, after

2000. In a group 150-200, even 300 elephants come regularly, sometimes even during

the rains and definitely during the paddy season. Even when the herd doesn’t always

come, one or two elephants are always in the area. There are many kinds of wildlife

here – dolphin, hare, python and turtles - when they come to lay eggs on the

Brahmaputra sand. There are also many birds, including migratory birds.

Lekhon Gogoi, Guide, Soroguwa Village

Panidehing Bird Sanctuary, Sivasagar

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From 2000, the elephants come here in the winter dry season. They are not seen during

the rainy season – we do not know where they go during the rains. In the last 5-6 days,

they have been here causing havoc in the villages. They are about 80-85 and eat paddy

grains from the village. With the forest department, we chase them out of the villages.

We’ve heard that they came first from Arunachal Pradesh. In the herd, there were two

tuskers, but now we don’t see them.

Sintu Deori, Age- 54, Gunabhiram Deori, Age – 53, Pranab Bharali, Age 53, Pradip Deori, Age-45

Madhupur, Dehingmukh Reserve Forest, Dibrugarh

In the 1980s there was one elephant, then a small herd of six arrived and stayed for a

year. Around 1986, we started staying up all night to guard our crop fields against

elephants. We’d come home late night, sometimes in the morning, sitting up all night

around a fire. In 1988, Dehingmukh Reserve Forest was severely damaged by floods.

The floods continue to be severe, and the reserve itself has been destroyed by illegal

felling. Then from around 1995 the large herds started arriving. We would be 250-300

people from the adjoining Sonowal village and our Deori village along a 4 km stretch

guarding against elephants. Even 80 year old men come out to help when elephants

raid. Once I climbed an outenga (Dillenia) tree to save myself running from 8 or 9

elephants. This gentleman here lost his clothes running and went and fell by the river.

Now there are 80-90 elephants, who keep moving the entire year. They go to Bogoribari

and Rankop (Jongoli Office) in Dhemaji. There are no tuskers. Because of the floods,

we are unable to cultivate in a lot of areas. The elephants go to Panidehing when the

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grass becomes scarce, then return after a week when the grass comes back. They go

to Majuli, this side they go to Dhemaji district. When they come, they split into two or

three groups and break people’s granaries, or eat bananas or pumpkins or salt and rice.

In Madhupur, by god’s grace, there have been no human deaths although people have

been injured. Pradip Deori here, for example – in 1999 a firecracker meant to scare the

elephants went off in his hand and he lost his fingers. The doctors at Dibrugarh Medical

College transplanted his big toe in place of his thumb. Another person’s hand broke

when an elephant pulled and twisted it around. An elephant stamped on yet another

person and his mouth and ear split, but he survived.

Photo: Pradip Deori who lost his fingers when a firecracker meant for scaring elephants away burst in hand. His big toe was transplanted in place of his lost thumb.