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Slash and Burn Agriculture
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In northeast India, where about 9,000-10,000 wild elephants live, and
to a lesser extent in central India, the tribal people still practice
this form of agriculture. A forest patch is chosen, all the vegetation
slashed and burnt and the area is cultivated for one or two years and
then abandoned for another forested patch. |
This results in elephants being forced to live in small forest patches.
In Garo hills, northeast India, we found the largest patch to be around
16 square km. This is much smaller than the 200 square km that would be
required for an average elephant family home range. Since these small
forest patches cannot meet their ecological requirements, elephants are
forced to raid crops. Crop fields, especially encroachments, become attractive
to elephants when their habitats are highly degraded due to human use. |
| Back to beginning of Asia Habitat Program |
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