Elephant conservation news 18 September - 25 September
Conservationists have suggested that deterrent planting could help to reduce conflicts between humans and elephants, the Indian Telegraph reports.
Amit Sharma from WWF India and B S Bonal from the Indian State Forest Department recently completed a study into conflict-prone areas.
Their report suggests wider adoption of the deterrent planting methods used in north-eastern Indian state Assam, where deterrent crops such as citrus plants are "planted in multiple rows of about five numbers and in a combination of at least two species".
A 2007 study by the Asian Elephant Conservation Fund noted anecdotal evidence that elephants avoid areas planted with citrus crops, and recorded experiments in Assam to deter elephants with citrus and patchouli planting.
The recent joint report also encouraged Indian states to experiment with the African method of using bees to deter elephants from crop fields. The humming sound of the bees is said to repel elephants.
LA Zoo elephant abuse lawsuit given green light
A lawsuit that charges Los Angeles Zoo with abusing elephants has been given the go-ahead by a Californian court of appeal, the LA Times reports.
An LA County Superior Court judge had initially ruled that the case, brought by two men under the state taxpayer waste statute, was political and therefore could not be brought to court.
The men allege that the zoo and city agency have violated the statute by "managing elephants in a way that abuses and injures them".
Delay to elephant corridor plans
Officials from Indian states where elephants range are yet to hold an "urgent meeting" to discuss the restoration of elephant corridors, despite being asked to do so by environment minister Jairam Ramesh, the Times of India reports.
The need for a meeting was discussed at a national conference of forest ministers last month, during which state wildlife officials accused central government of allowing tiger conservation to overshadow elephant issues.
Last week state officials in Eastern India announced their own plans to manage elephant corridors, seven years after the Indian government requested that action be taken.
