<p>The Tamil Nadu government has decided to erect elephant-proof trenches for a distance of 440 km in 10 districts, including Vellore, Dharmapuri, Erode, Virudhunagar, Tirunelveli and Anamalai tiger reserve at a cost of Rs 20 crore to stop elephants from coming out of the forests and causing damage to life and property in human habitats.<br /><br /></p>.<p>According to Forest Department secretary Mohan Verghese Chunkath ,Dharmapuri district will have the longest trench. He pointed out that that the Asian Elephant is a highly endangered keystone species categorized under part I of Schedule I of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972. <br /><br />Government sources said that out of 24,000 elephants estimated in India, Tamil Nadu has a population of 4,015 elephants. Of this, between 700 and 1,000 elephants from various forest divisions keep straying regularly into the human habitat. This increases human-animal conflict in the villages located nearby forest areas. </p>
<p>The Tamil Nadu government has decided to erect elephant-proof trenches for a distance of 440 km in 10 districts, including Vellore, Dharmapuri, Erode, Virudhunagar, Tirunelveli and Anamalai tiger reserve at a cost of Rs 20 crore to stop elephants from coming out of the forests and causing damage to life and property in human habitats.<br /><br /></p>.<p>According to Forest Department secretary Mohan Verghese Chunkath ,Dharmapuri district will have the longest trench. He pointed out that that the Asian Elephant is a highly endangered keystone species categorized under part I of Schedule I of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972. <br /><br />Government sources said that out of 24,000 elephants estimated in India, Tamil Nadu has a population of 4,015 elephants. Of this, between 700 and 1,000 elephants from various forest divisions keep straying regularly into the human habitat. This increases human-animal conflict in the villages located nearby forest areas. </p>
