This book sheds new light on the causes and consequences of elephant migration in the Panchet
Forest Division of Bankura District in West Bengal India- an area characterized by fragmented
forested landscape modified by agriculture and settlement expansion. Anthropogenic activities
result in the decline in quality and coverage of forests loss of biodiversity and removal of
forest corridors which ultimately restrict or modify the movement of elephants causing a
forceful change of their habitats. A major objective of this monograph is to identify the
characteristics of man-elephant conflicts in terms of land use change cropping patterns
ecological characteristics of the fragmented dry deciduous forest trends and patterns of
elephant migration and livelihood patterns of the inhabitants in the affected areas. Readers
will discover insights into changes in the behavioral pattern of elephants and local people in
the conflict ridden zones and how this influences food selection. Through this book we also
learn about rational management strategies that can be employed on the local and national level
to mitigate human-elephant conflicts. Ecologists landscape conservation planners and
environmental managers engaged in the conservation of large vertebrates in fragmenting and
human-dominated landscapes will find this book valuable.
