Archive · 30 Aug 2026
Tamil Nadu Notifies Three Elephant Corridors Near Karnataka Border
Tamil Nadu has officially recognized three paths used by elephants.
These paths are in the Cauvery North Wildlife Sanctuary near Karnataka.
Elephants use them to travel between the two states during different seasons.
They move in response to changes in rain, water, food and breeding needs.
The three corridors cover more than 10,300 hectares.
The land was already protected as reserve forest or sanctuary land.
The new recognition gives the paths greater conservation importance without changing the land’s legal status.
It may also help officials protect elephant movement and reduce conflicts with nearby communities.
Tamil Nadu formally notified three elephant corridors in the Cauvery North Wildlife Sanctuary’s Hosur forest division.
The corridors are Jawalagiri–Ulibanda–Thaggatti, Jawalagiri–Panai–Anchetty and Billikkal–Jawalagiri.
Together, they cover more than 10,300 hectares and connect elephant habitats across the Tamil Nadu–Karnataka border.
The notification follows Madras High Court interim directions and recommendations from committees studying elephant corridors.
Officials say recognition will support conservation, inter-state coordination, monitoring and efforts to reduce human-elephant conflict.
- Who
- The Tamil Nadu government, forest authorities and elephants moving between Tamil Nadu and Karnataka.
- What
- Three elephant corridors were formally notified to protect seasonal movement and habitat connectivity.
- When
- The notification was issued before publication in the Tamil Nadu and Krishnagiri district gazettes; the article gives no issue date.
- Where
- The corridors are in the Cauvery North Wildlife Sanctuary in Hosur forest division, along the Tamil Nadu–Karnataka border.
- Why
- To preserve traditional elephant routes, improve habitat connectivity and support conservation and human-elephant conflict reduction.
- Number of corridors
- Three
- Combined area
- More than 10,300 hectares
- Largest corridor
- Jawalagiri–Panai–Anchetty; 20.90 km and 6,881.47 hectares
- Second corridor
- Jawalagiri–Ulibanda–Thaggatti; 18.50 km and 3,241.53 hectares
- Smallest corridor
- Billikkal–Jawalagiri; 2.20 km and nearly 196 hectares
- Legal status
- All three corridors lie within existing reserve forests or protected sanctuary areas
- Notification authority
- Kakarla Usha, Additional Chief Secretary of Tamil Nadu’s Environment, Climate Change and Forests Department