Category Archives: Elephant

“The Kattunayakans, for example, a traditional hunter-gatherer tribe, would never plant a cash crop like bananas, since ‘elephants would eat it, of course’. They think it’s perfectly natural for elephants to come through their land and eat whatever they find. But for many of the newer immigrants into the region this is completely unacceptable, and they think elephants are a huge problem. Such nuances are frequently lost on biologists, conservationists and the media.” – Tarsh Thekaekara (Director, Shola Trust) in “Can elephants and humans live together?” (The Guardian, 6 March 2017)
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/mar/06/can-elephants-and-humans-live-together
https://indiantribalheritage.org/?p=22634

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Honouring the “Forest Man of India” who created an entire forest: A home for wild elephants, tigers, rhinos and deer – Assam

To read the full story and view a series of photos, click here >> Thirty-four years ago when he began to plant trees, no one, including him, had the slightest idea that his effort would give birth to an entire … Continue reading

Posted in Biodiversity, Commentary, Economy and development, Elephant, Media portrayal, Names and communities, Nature and wildlife, Photos and slideshows, Press snippets, Seven Sister States & Sikkim – North Eastern Council, Storytelling, Tiger, Trees | Tagged | Comments Off on Honouring the “Forest Man of India” who created an entire forest: A home for wild elephants, tigers, rhinos and deer – Assam

Elephants & tigers: Recurring motifs and issues for India’s tribal communities

“The tribals I was told about are elephant people. As far back as any one can remember, they have taken care of elephants. They understand elephants as no one else does. They grow up with elephants, and the elephants with … Continue reading

Posted in Anthropology, Bastar, Central region – Central Zonal Council, Crafts and visual arts, Eco tourism, Ecology and environment, Economy and development, Elephant, Globalization, Media portrayal, Misconceptions, Modernity, Museum collections - general, Nature and wildlife, Photos and slideshows, Quotes, Tiger, Tourism, Western region –  Western Zonal Council | Comments Off on Elephants & tigers: Recurring motifs and issues for India’s tribal communities

Figures carefully drawn with attention to detail, proportion and symmetry – rock art discovery in Tamil Nadu

A big rock art site has been discovered at Kovanur, Perianaickenpalayam taluk, 30 km northwest of Coimbatore in Tamil Nadu. The site has about 60 paintings, both group compositions and individual images. The paintings portray the hunting of an elephant … Continue reading

Posted in Archaeology, Elephant, Nature and wildlife, Nilgiri Biosphere, Press snippets, Tiger | Tagged , | Comments Off on Figures carefully drawn with attention to detail, proportion and symmetry – rock art discovery in Tamil Nadu

Forest dwellers and beasts – a hunting scene in the Mahabharata (Sakuntala narrative)

And in this wood, which teemed with herds or deer and beasts of prey that stalk the forest, Duhsanta, tiger among men, with retainers, escort, and mounts wrought havoc, killing game of many kinds. Many families of tigers he laid … Continue reading

Posted in Adivasi / Adibasi, Ecology and environment, Elephant, Games and leisure time, Government of India, History, Literature and bibliographies, Modernity, Nature and wildlife, Press snippets, Quotes, Tiger, Women | Comments Off on Forest dwellers and beasts – a hunting scene in the Mahabharata (Sakuntala narrative)

“Adivasis no longer walk among the elephants without fear” – Human animal conflict on the rise – Tamil Nadu, Kerala & Chhattisgarh

On March 30 [2012], Kokila, an Adivasi woman, was collecting firewood with a few friends near Kozhikolly village in the Devala area of Gudalur taluk, 50 km below Udhagamandalam, when she was charged by an angry elephant. It hurled her … Continue reading

Posted in Biodiversity, Ecology and environment, Elephant, Figures, census and other statistics, Modernity, Names and communities, Nature and wildlife, Organizations, Photos and slideshows, Press snippets, Tiger, Western Ghats – Tribal heritage and ecology, Women, Worship and rituals | Tagged | Comments Off on “Adivasis no longer walk among the elephants without fear” – Human animal conflict on the rise – Tamil Nadu, Kerala & Chhattisgarh