An awareness rally was organised by the Government Arts College in Udhagamandalam on Thursday to mark World Elephant Day.
The rally was conducted on Thursday as World Elephant Day is to be celebrated on Saturday, which is a holiday for the college. More than a hundred students, mostly from the Department of Wildlife Biology, took part in the rally around the college campus.
The students held placards highlighting the threats faced by elephants, as well as the need to conserve the animals for future generations.
B. Ramakrishnan, Head of the Department of Wildlife Biology at the college, told The Hindu a seminar was held following the awareness rally, in which he spoke about the reasons for negative human-elephant interactions and what people can do to minimise such interactions.
“Elephants are drawn towards human settlements due to improper waste disposal and availability of food. In many cases, elephants accidentally consume plastic packaging, which clogs up their intestines and eventually leads to their deaths,” said Mr. Ramakrishnan.
G. Sivasubramanian, Assistant Professor from the Kongunadu Arts and Science College in Coimbatore, spoke about the causes for premature deaths among elephants, including electrocution, and applauded the Tamil Nadu government for their initiatives in combating poaching and reducing the number of elephant deaths caused by power and electrical infrastructure.
The awareness rally was flagged off by S. Arul Antony, Principal of the college.
