“Kerala or Western Ghats has good contiguous habitats that support wild elephants. At the same time, the landscape poses a threat to them not in terms of poaching but in terms of human–animal conflicts, largely due to land fragmentation, habitat loss and reduction in habitat quality. In view of climate change, there should be a combined effort to protect forest land. We cannot afford loss of forest land anymore. The compensatory afforestation has been taking place with little scientific study and planning,” said Sreedhar Vijayakrishnan, principal scientist in Centre for Wildlife Studies, Bengaluru.

Forest department officials said though quite a few number of elephants have died in train accidents along the Walayar stretch, no such incidents have been reported since 2019, thanks to a coordinated effort by the railways and the forest department.

“We studied their behaviour and noted the time when they cross the railway tracks. They usually come out at night on their way to farm lands and return by early morning. We have intensified patrolling during that time. Besides, railways has improved its prewarning systems for loco pilots, flattened the embankments on either side of the track to make way for elephants in case trains are approaching, set up solar fences and taken other measures that seem to have improved things now,” says Krishnan, a forest watcher in Walayar range.