The largest single population of Asian elephants in the world, about 1000 individuals, is found in a 4500sq km area where the three Indian states of Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka meet.

The best forage is in the Tamil Nadu section but the elephants need to migrate to Kerala and Karnataka each summer when water and food become scarce. In order to migrate the elephants must pass through a corridor which is only about 2.5 km wide.

The major inter-state highway which links Bangalore with Calicut passes through this corridor. It is used by hundreds of vehicles round the clock. Recently a decision was made to relocate four different Kerala government check-posts to within the corridor. This would involve all manner of infrastructure %u2013 building complexes, housing, offices, toilets and dormitories for drivers, a fuel filling station and so on. Trenches are already being dug to prevent the elephants from migrating, thus threatening their survival. A suitable alternative site for these check-posts exists outside the forest.

Please help prevent the severance of this critical corridor.

More information about the plight of the Asian Elephants in various languages may be found at: http://www.rainforestinfo.org.au/e/appeal.htm

Dear Minister of Kerala,

Asia%u2019s largest remaining population of wild elephants is found in the Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve. These elephants face a variety of serious threats.

The most serious threat (and also the easiest to remedy) is the proposed relocation of four government departmental check-posts on the inter-state highway linking Bangalore with Calicut near Muthanga. If implemented, the proposal would prevent the annual migration of the wild elephants between Tamil Nadu and Kerala which is necessary for their very survival.

We request that the Government of Kerala relocates these checking stations to outside the forest corridor and takes additional measures to ensure the continued flourishing of these magnificent animals.

These measures include ensuring that trenches do not block elephant access to the Nulpuzha River within this corridor and the prohibition of vehicle movement on the Bangalore-Calicut Highway between 11 p.m. and 4 a.m.