Perturbed by the escalating human-elephant conflict in the districts of Hassan, Kodagu, and Chikkamagaluru — and the repeated failure and ethical concerns surrounding traditional methods to deal with it, like direct translocation or permanent captivity — the Karnataka forest department is preparing to adopt a radically different approach. In what is being touted as a science-based, humane, and ecologically sustainable initiative, the state government plans to establish India’s first soft release centre for elephants in conflict, inside Bhadra Tiger Reserve, located within 100 km of major conflict hotspots in Karnataka.

“These are animals that have adapted to a very different lifestyle — feeding on crops, living near human habitation. The idea is not just to move them into the forest and hope for the best. We’re proposing a soft release, a transitional process,” explains Manoj Rajan, Additional Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (Project Elephant), who is leading the initiative.

The goal, according to the Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (PCCF) for Wildlife and Chief Wildlife Warden Subhash K. Malkhade, is to allow the elephants to get acclimatised to the new landscape, to gradually shift from crop-based foraging to feeding on native forest species. “Many of these elephants (in conflict) feed nocturnally due to human activity,” Rajan highlights, adding, “In the enclosure, biologists will monitor them and help them transition back to diurnal behaviour. Once the animals are well-adapted and no longer exhibit aggressive or conflict-prone behaviour, the enclosure gates will be opened to allow them to move into the larger forest.”

Rajan emphasises that the centre is not meant for lifelong captivity, but is conceived as a place to condition elephants for successful rewilding.

A different kind of wild

The proposed area is 20 sq km within the Bhadra Tiger Reserve, specifically chosen for its ecological suitability — diverse forage, open grasslands, natural water bodies, and inviolate nature, according to the department. They’ve also taken into account Bhadra’s proximity to the conflict hotspots like Hassan, Kodagu, and Chikkamagaluru, which minimises transport stress on elephants. Rajan says that the tiger reserve also ensures landscape familiarity owing to its historical elephant presence.

The government has earmarked Rs. 53.2 crores for the project — the cost components include setting up railway barricades, habitat restoration, grassland development, human resources, veterinary care, and monitoring.

The forest department is treading uncharted waters with caution. A technical committee comprising experts from various (and allied) fields — such as senior IFS officers from conflict regions, elephant biologists, wildlife veterinarians, etc. — has been set up and is being led by elephant ecologist Raman Sukumar, honorary professor at the Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru, to chart out a detailed plan. While the department seems confident about the potential success of the project, the technical committee members are either tight-lipped or maintain that it is too premature to comment.

The technical committee lead, Raman Sukumar, informs Mongabay India that it is an evolving plan which presents a potential solution to the increasing conflict. “This centre is only for elephants and herds involved in conflicts. We are exploring the possibility of a soft release into a protected space, with adequate resources and habitat. The idea is to see whether, under these conditions, the elephants might settle and whether conflict can be mitigated. It’s partly a learning process.”

Why Bhadra? Conservationists ask

While the department gets ready to roll out the plan in the next eight months, not everyone is convinced. Conservationist D.V. Girish, founder of WildCAT-C (Wildlife Conservation Action Team-Chikkamagaluru), an advocacy group based in Chikkamagaluru, and others have written to the government opposing the plan. They question the rationale behind setting up a soft release centre — which is, at best, an experiment — in a sanctuary with a legacy of over half a century, asking, “Why tamper with the integrity of Bhadra?” when such experiments could be conducted in reserve forests.

Bhadra Tiger Reserve, located in the Western Ghats of Karnataka, was originally declared a reserve forest during the British period in 1915-16. Recognising its rich biodiversity and abundant wildlife, it was officially notified as a wildlife sanctuary in 1974. Later, considering its high suitability for wildlife conservation due to its dense forests and thriving animal populations, particularly tigers, it was declared a tiger reserve in 1998. The true legacy of Bhadra, however, was shaped in 2002 when residents of 13 villages within the reserve voluntarily relocated to two nearby towns, leaving the entire 492 sq km reserve solely for wildlife conservation.

Conservationist Praveen Bhargav questions the level of ecological assessments done to choose Bhadra as the soft release centre. “It’s true that Bhadra has swampy grasslands, a relatively good habitat, and no human settlements inside the tiger reserve, which might seem ideal for translocation. But such decisions must not be ad hoc, but based on rigorous ecological assessments.”

The real worry is the plan to clear forests and other civil works to create a release centre, which would set a wrong precedent. “Bhadra cannot become the ‘dumping ground’ for elephants. Shifting elephants from one area to another is not a long-term conservation solution. The priority must be to protect known habitats and work towards the recovery of populations where they naturally exist. Translocation should only be a last resort, grounded in independent ecological assessments,  not just the views of government-managed scientific institutions,” he suggests.

Girish also raises concerns about Bhadra’s tenuous connectivity to other protected areas in the Western Ghats. Unlike the forest contiguity seen in Bandipur and Nagarahole, which connect seamlessly to forests in the neighbouring states of Kerala and Tamil Nadu, Bhadra is relatively isolated. “Bhadra already has about 350 elephants; bringing in more would increase the demand for space for dispersal,” he says.

Sukumar acknowledges the connectivity issue but clarifies that the goal of the soft release is to contain the elephants within the reserve itself and prevent them from venturing out. Rajan, who views Bhadra’s relatively low elephant density as an advantage, emphasises that the department is only planning to translocate specific conflict elephants, around 25 to 30 individuals. “These decisions will be made on a case-by-case basis by a committee of experts,” he adds.

Human-elephant conflict on the rise

The elephant conflict belt across southern Karnataka has become a site of persistent tragedy and tension. In Hassan district alone, between 2022 and 2025, 14 people have died due to elephant encounters. Kodagu reported 24 cases and Chikkamagaluru 13 cases — out of a total of 116 human deaths in the state during this period, according to data shared by the forest department.

Retaliatory killings have been reported too. The forest department has repeatedly come under the scanner for capturing elephants, some of them allegedly not involved in conflicts, and sending them to camps.

The soft release concept is inspired by the urgent situation in districts like Hassan, some parts of which are classified as “elephant removal zones” in the 2012 Karnataka Elephant Task Force (KETF) report. This technical report, authored by leading elephant experts including Sukumar, proposed a zonal framework for managing the escalating human-elephant conflict across the state. It recommended categorising landscapes into three types — elephant conservation zones, elephant-human coexistence zones, and elephant removal zones — based on habitat suitability and the intensity of conflict.

Rajan points out that Hassan, with its dense human settlements, falls under the elephant removal zone category. However, this raises questions about elephants from Kodagu and Chikkamagaluru — areas not designated as removal zones in the report. Sukumar clarifies that these zones were never geographically demarcated; rather, they were intended to be adaptable to evolving conflict patterns. “What was proposed in the report never progressed to actually identifying and notifying specific zones. There are areas within elephant landscapes where coexistence is still possible. But when elephants frequently enter human habitations, relocation becomes the only practical option,” he says.

Read more: Walls come down to make way for elephants

Banner image: Elephants and people constantly overlap , leading to human-elephant conflict in the districts of Hassan, Kodagu, and Chikkamagaluru. Traditional mitigation methods like direct translocation or permanent captivity often fail, leading to the innovation of the soft release centre. Image by Vinod Krishnan.

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Aditi Tandon Senior Production Editor

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ElephantsHuman Wildlife ConflictKarnataka

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