Human-Elephant Conflict in Sonamukhi C.D. Block of Bankura District, West Bengal
Abstract
Human-Elephant Conflict (HEC) is a complex interaction between humans and elephants. This article is an attempt to examine the HEC in the Sonamukhi block of Bankura District. This block is an HEC-affected area, where the increasing human population density and the changing land-use patterns continuously reduce the naturally dwelling place of the elephants. As a result of the reduced geographical spaces, the elephant herds destroy crops, houses, and even kill people. Irritated farmers in return hit back by shooting, wounding elephants with home-made weapons. The conflict burgeons every day. This research article is an outcome of the empirical investigation to chalk out the major causes and consequences of this conflict due to changing behaviour of the wild elephants and the land use patterns of the affected people.
Keywords
Human-Elephant Conflict (HEC), Land use patterns, Bankura District, West Bengal
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