Why Elephants Avoid Some ‘Green’ Forests: Lessons From Chhattisgarh

When most people imagine a thriving forest, they picture a canopy of green, with dappled light filtering through tall trees, and wildlife roaming freely beneath. And when we think of elephants, majestic, wide-roaming, deeply intelligent animals, we assume that as long as there’s forest, they must be doing fine.

But what if that assumption is wrong?

Between 2018 and 2021, Wildlife SOS, in collaboration with the Chhattisgarh Forest Department, conducted a series of extensive studies to understand the movement, behaviour, and habitat preferences of wild elephants in the Mahasamund and Balodabazar forest divisions. The findings documented under “Technical Report Radio Collaring & Early Warning Alert System of Human-Elephant Conflict Mitigation Project in Chhattisgarh State 2018-2021” shed light on an often-overlooked truth that not all green forests are good for elephants.

At an initial glance, much of the study area in central Chhattisgarh appears lush and green. There is plenty of tree cover and leafy undergrowth, and from a distance, it looks like the perfect habitat for wild elephants. But on closer inspection, the team discovered that elephants were avoiding many of these “green” areas. And the reasons behind this tell us a lot about what real conservation should look like. To understand this behaviour, we need to start by asking…

What does an elephant actually need from a forest?

For starters, elephants are not indiscriminate feeders. While they do eat a wide variety of vegetation, from grasses and shrubs to trees and creepers, they also show clear preferences. The three key ranges that our Wildlife SOS team surveyed were Mahasamund, Rawan, and Lawan. Here, our researchers recorded the presence of 90 different plant species, of which 16 species stood out as primary food sources for elephants. These included bamboo (Bamboosa arundinacea), oleander (Odium odorum or Nerium odorum), khair (Acacia catechu), bidi leaf tree (Bauhinia racemosa), mahua (Madhuca longifolia), and Indian frankincense (Boswellia serrata). It turns out that many of these plants are also heavily used by humans. In the Mahasamund Range, for instance, field teams found piles of cut and stacked stems of important elephant food plants like Indian redwood (Soymida febrifuga) and Bengal quince (Aegle marmelos). These forests, although appearing green to the eye, were becoming functionally empty for elephants looking for nutrition.

But is food the only factor?

Certainly not! Shade plays an equally important role for elephants in their habitat. These are large animals, and they generate and retain a lot of body heat. During hotter months, especially in the middle of the day, they need dense, tall trees to rest under. Yet in many parts of Mahasamund, past logging and clear-felling had left behind young, short trees and open canopies, providing little relief from the sun. Elephants are left to choose from only the narrow strips along streams or deep valleys that offer usable shade. In the Rawan Range, where tree height, vegetation density, and shade were all markedly better, elephants were observed more frequently here, often using shaded valleys as resting areas. Though still under pressure from human encroachment, the forest structure in Rawan is more closely aligned with the needs of its wild residents.

What else?

Human disturbance further complicates the picture. Villages bordering the forests contribute to constant grazing pressure, fuelwood collection, and forest degradation. In Mahasamund, these pressures extend well into the forest. Livestock consume the grass, while invasive weeds take hold. The undergrowth becomes thick and tangled, but not with plants that elephants eat. In fact, in some places, field teams found that elephants had trampled down thorny thickets of invasive plants such as Lantana camara, just to reach tiny patches of palatable grass — a sign of desperation, not abundance.

But how does this affect us?

All of this leads to a crucial realisation. Even in areas which have been officially classified as forested, elephants may find themselves without food, resting places, or even room to roam around. Therefore, it also shouldn’t surprise us when many of them venture into human settlements in search of more palatable and nutritious food. During the harvest season, crop fields provide options in large quantities, like calorie-dense paddy and maize to pachyderms that are ‘starved’ of nourishment in their ‘green’ forests. Their arrival leads to encounters and conflict, often resulting in the loss of crops or the lives of humans and precious wildlife. While it’s easy to blame elephants for such incidents, this report reminds us that the real problem is habitat quality, not just habitat loss. A forest can appear lush and green and still fail to meet the basic needs of its wild inhabitants.

This is a critical lesson for conservation policy. Reforestation programmes that focus only on increasing tree cover without considering the type of vegetation, the availability of food plants, or the presence of shade and water may do little for elephants or any other wildlife. While reforestation, we need to reconsider and redefine what a “good forest” should look like: it means protecting and regenerating known and native species that serve as food for elephants and the rest residing in the ecosystem. It means managing livestock grazing and reducing human-induced pressures on forest interiors. It means restoring canopy cover, especially along river valleys and traditional elephant corridors. And it means understanding forests not as static green zones on a map, but as dynamic ecosystems that need to work for the animals they’re meant to shelter. In Chhattisgarh, our work follows the state’s conflict management strategy, from community-led patrols and early-warning systems to bringing reserve forests like Barnawapara under sanctuary protection. We also enrich elephant habitats by aiding natural regeneration, safeguarding corridors, and reducing forest fires. With protection, quality habitats, and local participation, coexistence becomes possible, for elephants and all wildlife sharing their range.

Elephants are a keystone species, which means that maintaining their habitat promises to maintain an entirely balanced ecosystem. Habitat restoration, therefore, is about shifting the unilateral approach of conservation itself to a more holistic one. If our forests don’t support the creatures that depend on them, what are we really conserving? The forests of central Chhattisgarh tell a powerful story, and it’s time we listened. Not all green forests support elephants. Our study revealed that degraded habitats lacking food, shade, and space push elephants to farms, fueling conflict. Real conservation therefor,e must include educated tree cover restoration and an understanding of forest health to truly meet wildlife needs and prevent future crises.

Read more about our efforts to mitigate human-elephant conflict here.

Feature image: Akash Dolas / Wildlife SOS