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September 2023 Little by Little campaign!
until September 22, 2023, at 23:59:59 EDT
We have now build at least three water bodies in the Pallahara - Telkoi region of Odisha, in order to provide elephants and other wildlife enough water bodies inside the forest to survive the blistering heat. VFAES has partnered with Paribartan and employed the local people to create these water bodies! It’s a win-win for both elephants and people.
We are also thrilled to report that we’ve created waterholes at the trijunction of Balasore, Baripada, and Hardgarh in Odisha that serves as a critical habitat for elephants. The site is frequented by a herd of elephants, indicating that it holds significance for these majestic creatures. Even during the construction activities, the elephants continued to visit the area, leaving behind their footprints.
Interestingly, they also utilize the nearby water body at night, suggesting that it plays an important role in meeting their hydration needs. This trijunction likely boasts diverse ecological features, including a wide variety of vegetation and topography, contributing to the rich biodiversity and abundance of resources, making it an attractive habitat for elephants.
As the harsh summer envelops vast regions of India, with temperatures soaring up to 45 degrees celsius or 113 fahrenheit, water sources tend to dry up, pushing elephants out of the forests and into the villages, driving human elephant conflict, inevitably resulting in tragedies. By providing enough food and water resources inside the forests, elephants will hopefully remain inside the forests
More than 80% of elephant habitats have been lost to reckless development to sustain humans - with the population in India at 1.41 BILLION as of this year, surpassing China, and earning the the top spot for an overcrowded country. According to one report around 245 elephants have been killed in the past 3 years, that's 82 elephants per year being killed in the central state of Odisha alone! The demise of this species will have a cascading effect and lead to the collapse of forest ecosystems.
We still have a few more waterholes to be created, and by mid-July/ early August we will also begin planting 20,000 saplings in these areas. I can't wait to share with you photos of the planting the saplings inside the forests. VFAES partnered with Paribartan India to implement this critical project.
On behalf of our entier Board of Directors, Thank You from the bottom of my heart for your ongoing support to help us provide basic survival needs to the endangered elephants of Odisha. We couldn't do this work without the funds. so please continue to donate. We've raised around $42,000 of the $60,000 for our first phase of this project. We still have close to $18,000 more to raise. And please be sure to share this report with your family/ friends and encourage them to help us save these majestic beings before its too late.
Links:
I've just returned after 45 days from one of the most productive trips to India where we launched several projects across multiple states.
In Odisha (check out all the images):
Click on the titles below to read the amazing media coverage:
In West Bengal:
Since the launch of EleSense in mid-January in West Bengal, the project continues to make news headlines. Many of you so generous funded our EleSense project - sensor based device designed to save elephants from getting killed by the reckless speeding trains. We've installed 40 pairs of the EleSense across key elephant crossing zones and we've already been able to detect elephants criss-crossing the area around 68 times (maps attached). Click on the titles below to the significant media coverage in West Bengal:
The elephants of India still need a lot of help, because in an unfortunate turn of events, the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change amended India's Wildlife Protection Act (1972), legalizing captive elephant transfers for "religious and other purposes", opening up the pandora box of the nasties. The issue is, there's no mechanism to keep track of elephants currently in captivity and the ones that are being illegally captured. As a matter of fact, this amendment to the WPA embodens illegal captures of wild elephants.
So,we still have a lot of work to do, if we are to save the endangered Asian elephants. India is their last bastion because it houses 60% of all Asian elephants. Please continue to support this very critical projects to save these ecologically significant animals by helping us plant saplings for the famished elephants and create waterbodies for them.
CLICK HERE TO DONATE FROM YOUR HEART!
On behalf of all the elephants of India, and our Board of Directors, my most sincere gratitude for your support. Only collectively can we save the endangered Asian elephants. Let's work together to save these majestic animals!!
Sincerely,
Sangita
Links:
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