The sudden crack of a breaking branch in the distance interrupts the nightly symphony of cicadas and crickets in rural Thailand. Some might think it was a strong gust of wind, or may be a squirrel or a bird, but I know what`s coming. I hear people howling, yelling and clapping before the explosions of several firecrackers echo through the night. We are in a conflict zone, and amidst an invasion.
Branches break, crack and snap as they crash through the forest retreating from the explosions. The forest is silent. I hold my breath, feel for the button on my headlamp, and illuminate the forest edge. I`m not met with a criminal, an intruder, or "the enemy" but a herd of Asian elephants. This is human-elephant conflict (HEC). There are no winners, only losers, and both sides suffer similarly and equally because of it.
In the Thai regions where I work, elephants push down "permanent" barriers, drag logs onto the electric fences to cross without getting shocked, change their routes to avoid passing through sensored alarms, and slowly fill deep trenches with dirt, then work together to cross, leaving no member of the herd behind. While barriers and obstacles may be effective initially, they do not address the reason why the elephants are venturing into human-dominated landscapes in the first place. As HEC hotspots rise in Thailand, sustainable solutions that benefit both human and elephants are urgently needed.
Our team is investigating whether planting alternative crops can minimize the economic impact from crop depredation. Many might think farmers would sooner wish the elephants were gone than accept having to change their own practices and behavior, but this community is driven by a shared vision of coexistence between the humans and the elephants.
I can't imagine a world without elephants-an internationally admired symbol of strength, wealth and wisdom. A life without elephants does not mean these remarkable creatures would disappear from Asia's lush forests and Africa's vast savannas. Elephants are everywhere, from national flags to souvenir stands, corporate logos to cartoon characters, religious scriptures to the heart of every young student and volunteer who has told me that elephants are their favourite animal. Somehow, losing elephants means losing something bigger than the world`s biggest land mammal. I cannot think of anything else to which I would rather dedicate my life, than hearing the nightly symphony, uninterrupted by explosions, feeling peace throughout a former conflict zone, and seeing human-elephant conflict become human-elephant coexistence.
