In Andaman & Nicobar, deer, elephants are marauders of forests

The Andaman and Nicobar Islands belong to India, but their plant and animal life have greater affinity to Myanmar, Thailand and Indonesia. Life on these islands has been isolated for millions of years, giving rise to new species found nowhere else on earth. Although nine National Parks and 96 Wildlife Sanctuaries have been established, our policy makers have not paid particular attention to the needs of the island ecosystems. This has given rise to an anomalous wildlife management situation. Around 1905, the British colonialists introduced three species of deer to South Andaman since there was hardly any native game worth hunting. The hog deer didn’t survive while the barking deer are still found in a few pockets in Middle Andaman. However, spotted deer proliferated faster than the white bureaucrats could hunt them. By 1931, the Chief Commissioner of the Islands, MCC Bonington, despaired at the alarming increase in the animals’ numbers. Since they are good swimmers and survive on rainwater, the deer have colonised every significant island of the Andaman group except for the far-flung Little Andaman, North and South Sentinel. They have proved to be the ultimate rats-in-the-granary. [caption id=“attachment_166020” align=“alignleft” width=“380” caption=“Reuters”] [/caption] Deer eat seeds and saplings, and prevent the regeneration of trees. When a forest is stymied from renewing itself, it will die out. There are no estimates of the deer population as they are exceedingly shy and mobile, swimming between islands. One of the islands where these animals have had an unchecked run is tiny Ross Island, off Port Blair, the capital of the Andaman Islands, and the effects are there for visitors to see: the native vegetation is almost completely gone. There are very few tall trees, no undergrowth, and, as can be expected, much soil erosion. Deer survive on some browse, tourist handouts and garbage. Unlike other islands, Interview Island suffers an additional exotic scourge: elephants. In 1962, PC Ray and Company, involved in logging operations, went bankrupt. Since there was no money to bring back the 40 working elephants, the mahouts simply released them and went home. These domesticated behemoths went wild, munching their way through the local forest. In 1993, they numbered about 70. It’s hard to find a single stand of cane, bamboo, palms and pandanus on the 104 sq km Interview Island as they have been eaten up. A few clumps cling to steep rocky slopes, out of reach of the animals. According to a study conducted by ecologist Rauf Ali, elephants have damaged 22 species of trees; sometimes every tree of a particular species is uprooted or debarked. Naturalist Rom Whitaker recalls seeing the trunks of giant ficus tree gouged by elephants, a behaviour he hadn’t seen in mainland India. The animals evolved for life on continents, moving with the seasons from one area to another. But on a small island, these pachyderms are like bulls in a china shop, trampling and eating unique plants and knocking down trees. In 2001, the number of elephants had more than halved to about 30. No new estimates are available. It’s possible they are running out of forage as several looked emaciated, says Ali. But he adds disease and poaching may also be responsible for the diminishing numbers. Such intense browsing by elephants and deer has changed the composition of Interview’s forests, concludes Ali. Since edible species are eaten as soon as they put forth leaves, a few inedible species have begun taking over the island. But even this may change out of necessity. In 1993, researcher Sivaganesan listed a number of plants not eaten by elephants. By 2001, the animals were browsing on them, says Ali. With deer eating up saplings and elephants knocking down and killing mature trees, the forests of Interview are being decimated. No research has been done to assess how such changes have impacted the lives of native animals and birds that depend on these trees and plants. Continues on the next page Way down south, Little Andaman has neither elephants nor spotted deer, and its richness of vegetation stands in sharp contrast to Interview. The former has dense underbrush, an abundance of saplings and a diversity of trees and plants. If these pests aren’t controlled, the afflicted islands are destined for the same impoverished fate of Ross Island. Despite being aware of this situation, officialdom creaks with inertia. Ali reported the comments made at a high-powered meeting in Port Blair: “but they [the deer] are so beautiful,” “international scientists can be completely wrong,” “maybe these scientific principles do not hold in the Andamans,” and “Andamans is a part of India, how can you call this an invasive.” Indeed, such misguided sentiments have already led to the declaration of Barren Island, the country’s only active volcano, as a sanctuary for feral goats in 1977. India is a signatory to the Convention on Biological Diversity, of which Section 8(h) exhorts, “Each contracting Party shall, as far as possible and as appropriate, prevent the introduction of, control or eradicate those alien species which threaten ecosystems, habitats or species.” Interview Island is a Wildlife Sanctuary meant to protect local fauna, not elephants and deer which have ample forests on mainland India. We are duty bound to remove them to protect the island’s natural richness. Elephants are protected under the Wildlife Protection Act, a legislation drafted in the interest of endangered wildlife of mainland India. In areas where they don’t belong, Ali recommends the Act be amended to strip them of their hallowed status. But the government shows no such inclination. Instead, it grants elephants on Interview the same legal sanctity as feral goats on Barren. It’s relatively easier to deal with deer since they don’t feature in the list of animals deserving the highest protection. The Central government can invoke Section 62 of the Wildlife Act and consign them to vermin category. Yet, it is reluctant to use even the existing provisions of law. A disproportionate value is placed on large mammal welfare while ignoring the greater conservation needs of fragile island ecosystems and the smaller life forms inhabiting them. A year ago, the island administration wrote to the Ministry of Environment and Forests in Delhi suggesting that deer be declared vermin in the Andamans. In its infinite wisdom, the latter authorised the castration of bucks and killing any problematic animals. Even if it were practical to catch and castrate bucks in the difficult terrain, it still leaves the animals free to browse their way through the vegetation for several more years. In the absence of a seriously considered, pragmatic directive from Delhi, the herbivores continue to wreak havoc. Ali suggests the authorities have allowed themselves to be held hostage by animal welfare concerns instead of taking a steadily deteriorating situation by the horns. India has already missed two key goals set for the year 2010 under the CBD which urges the signatories to control the spread of invasive species. Unless India acts decisively now, it is going to miss the new CBD deadline for the year 2020 too. To the authorities’ credit, in a fine show of conservation-mindedness, Narcondam Island was successfully liberated from feral goats. We can similarly redeem Interview and other islands from elephants and other alien species if, for a start, our officials will set their minds to it.