A zoogeographical assessment: causes for the elephants’ seasonal invasion beyond the western boundary of Yala national park, block one

Abstract

Elephants’ (Elephas maximus maximus) invasion into the crop lands, damaging properties and occasional human deaths are common features in the surroundings of the Yala and Udawalawe National Parks of Southern Wildlife Region. Elephants’ invasion beyond the Western boundary of the Yala Block One (Yala B-1) is a prolong problem. The objective of this paper is to identify the main causes for the elephants’ seasonal invasion beyond the Western boundary of the Yala B-1. Purposive sampling has been employed as one of the main techniques to collect data from targeted respondents. Particularly, questionnaire survey, in-depth interviews with farmers using semi structured questions, focus groups discussions with victims of elephants’ invasions, key informant interviews with park officers and with Jeep drivers were conducted during the months of August and December in 2016 and April in 2017. High concentrated human activities including continuous visits, high concentration of Safari Jeeps, visitors’ immoral behavior against elephants, human encroachments to the park: hunting, crop cultivation, cannabis cultivation, falling of trees, allowing domestic livestock to graze, gem mining are on-going inside the Yala B-1. Besides, Choices of the crops for agriculture in the neighbouring areas of the park are pretty much attractive to the Elephants, which direct them to invade villages. Moreover, Elephants becoming aggravated to feed rather ready-made crops in the field, grains in warehouses and food remains from garbage disposing areas as well as in the bins are identified causes for the elephants’ invasion beyond the Western boundary of the Yala B-1.