Karnataka is set to gift four trained elephants to Andhra Pradesh on May 21st to mitigate human-elephant conflict along their shared border

BENGALURU: In a major move to address the human-elephant conflict along the Karnataka–Andhra Pradesh border, Karnataka will hand over trained captive (Kumki) elephants to neighbouring Andhra Pradesh on Wednesday, 21 May. Chief minister Siddaramaiah and deputy chief minister D.K. Shivakumar will officially hand over four trained elephants to Andhra Pradesh Deputy CM and Forest Minister Pawan Kalyan in front of Vidhana Soudha in Bengaluru.Karnataka, which has the highest population of elephants in India, has previously gifted over 50 elephants to other states, including Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Odisha, and Madhya Pradesh. The state government’s decision to hand over trained elephants follows a special request by Andhra Pradesh’s deputy CM and Forest minister Pawan Kalyan during his visit to Bengaluru on 8 August 2024.During a meeting with Karnataka forest minister Eshwar Khandre, Kalyan requested the donation of eight trained elephants to help capture problematic elephants in and around Chittoor and Parvathipuram Manyam districts. Kalyan also requested that Karnataka provide training to Andhra Pradesh mahouts and forest department staff in handling and capturing problematic elephants. Accordingly, Khandre visited Vijayawada in September 2024 and signed a memorandum of understanding with the neighbouring state.“This move will not only strengthen the relationship between the two states but also help alleviate the increasing incidents of human-elephant conflict along the border. Furthermore, the handing over of elephants is part of the agreement signed by South Indian states (the Bengaluru Charter) during the global summit on human-animal conflict held in August 2024 in Bengaluru,” Minister Khandre said in an official statement.Conflict in border districts to be resolvedKarnataka’s move is expected to address the rising issue of human-elephant conflict along the border districts, particularly in Kolar. “Our Kumki elephants will assist the Andhra Pradesh forest department in capturing problematic elephants and preventing them from straying into Karnataka districts. Therefore, this move will indirectly benefit Karnatakab in the long term,” Khandre added.Addressing concerns from wildlife enthusiasts and conservationists that Dasara elephants might be gifted to Andhra Pradesh, Khandre clarified that no Dasara elephants would be handed over. “No elephant that is part of our Dasara procession will be sent to Andhra Pradesh,” he stated.