Walking with elephants: How Assam prepares to minimise conflict during migration season

Tara, a young elephant in Assam’s central-northern Sonitpur district, spends most of her time in the forests of the Sonai Rupai Wildlife Sanctuary. This ancient elephant habitat, nestled along the foothills of the Himalayas, boasts a lush landscape of both evergreen and deciduous forests, and riverine grasslands.

For much of the year, Tara’s herd remains largely invisible in this dense environment. With abundant food and water, they roam within a modest 30-40 square kilometres, not needing to move more than a few kilometres every day.

However, come October, Tara’s movement patterns change. Following historical migration patterns, her herd leaves the forest, venturing into the district’s many tea plantations and following the path of the Jia Gabharu River, where they are joined by other elephant families. From here, they travel down to the Brahmaputra River, expanding their home range tenfold to encompass farmland and tea plantations. As their daily movements double, their interactions with humans also increase.

Motiram Boro, a farmer in the village of Chariduar in Sonitpur district, is no stranger to these encounters. Elephants once ravaged his paddy fields, leaving the farmer devastated. Boro responded by installing a solar-powered electric fence, a cost-effective barrier that has protected his crops since 2018.

Nearby, forest staff hold an...

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