MYSORE FEB. 21 . A tragedy of mammoth proportions is unfolding at the Kabini backwaters as hundreds of elephants that continue to arrive here in anticipation of fodder are greeted with bone-dry forests and water holes.

In the absence of adequate water, the unfolding scenario has intensified the man-animal conflict as the elephants have started entering agricultural fields and human habitation. With the competition for meagre resources between elephants and the local population on the fringes of the forests, the villagers' patience is running out and they are increasingly turning against the pachyderms.

The pressure from cattle that graze in the forests hasten the depletion of fodder for herbivorous animals and steps to combat it is greeted with acts of reprisal such as setting ablaze large tracts of forests. Near Sargur, a mob of 60 farmers surrounded a hapless elephant that had strayed into a village in search of food and water and threw stones at it. Similar incidents have been reported from Hediyala, Nanjangud, Kollegal, and Mullur.

The Kabini backwaters lie in the migratory path of elephants and other wild animals that criss-cross through the Bandipur-Nagarahole-Mudumalai-Wynad belt every year resulting in the biggest wildlife congregation in Asia. The reservoir is a source of water to the animals in the region while the gradual depletion in the water level in it following the retreat of the South-West and the North-East monsoon facilitates the growth of grass between November and January.

This also synchronises with the annual migratory movement of the elephants, and the presence of food and water in abundance helps them for their onward march across the jungles. It was a paradise for the wildlife. But drought in the region for three consecutive years has depleted the waterholes and backwaters and there has been no fresh grass in the past two years during the migratory period.

The onset of summer has compounded the issue as the spectre of forest fires is now looming large over the entire Niligiri Biosphere belt, and it is feared that even the bark of trees will not be available for the elephants once forest fire breaks out. Between Nagarahole and Bandipur, there are over 200 waterholes of which, only a few may have sufficient water for animals. The other major and perennial sources include the Moyar, the Lakshmanthirtha, and the Nugu, which will be dry during this season every year. But the backwaters of the Kabini Reservoir came in handy for the animals to tide over the crisis every year.

However, the Kabini Reservoir was emptied this year and the available water is drying up fast. The elephants continue to march here in anticipation of water, covering long distances from as far as BRT Sanctuary, Kollegal, Bannerghatta, Brahmagiri, and Cauvery Wildlife Sanctuary in Karnataka, Mudumalai in Tamil Nadu, and Wynad in Kerala, during the course of their migratory movement.

The overcrowding of animals near the waterholes is bound to lead to territorial conflicts and as a result dominant herds will drive away the smaller ones to establish their authority over the area. This will have a bearing on the animals as a large number of them, mostly elephant calves, may not survive the ordeal and live through the summer in the absence of fodder and water. Conservationists fear that the coming summer may prove to be crucial for elephants that are on the brink of extinction. Degradation, fragmentation, and encroachment of habitats have restricted the elephants' movement as a result of which there is a possibility of genetic inbreeding within the herd. Degradation of forests due to unrestrained grazing by cattle and frequent forest fires added to the trauma of the elephants. While the former is a direct competitor for fodder, outbreak of fires has led to dominance of fire-resistant species that are not edible.