Abstract

Elephants with its wide ranging habit is one of the most affected species and a comparison between past and present distribution clearly shows its extinction in some parts of the country. The present paper describes an Elephant Conservation Unit comprising of Anamalais, Nelliampathis, Sholayar, High Ranges and Palani Hills. Five wildlife sanctuaries and a national park fall within the proposed unit. These protected areas form about 40 of the proposed unit and the population of elephant was estimated to be about 600. An area of about 4, 150 square kilometer with 1400 elephants is proposed for long-term conservation of Asian elephants. The conservation unit has an extreme diversity of vegetation types. The necessity of an appropriate census technique is stressed and co-ordination of the census in different areas of the conservation unit suggested. Ecological and behavioural studies on Asian elephants in the area would bring out useful information for proper management. The