KEF working on project to assist forest animals in Kerala during the dry season

Rajeev Kurup, Kerala Elephant Foundation Edited, Mark Doss

March 1, 2025

Kerala, India — From January to mid-May 2026, portions of the state of Kerala are expected to face drought and severe water challenges, in line with historic water scarcity issues in the region in recent years. The Kerala Elephant Foundation (KEF) is working on a project to assist elephants and other forest animals with artificial water ponds during this dry spell, with work initially focused in Kollam District.

As an example of the scale of the problem, Kollam District received less rainfall than usual in 2024 - it did not receive even half the expected amount. Such water scarcity threatens the lives of wild animals. For example, from 2022 to 2023 an estimated 4,000 wild animals died in the Kollam district of Kerala alone due to severe drought. This is just the reported figure, with some believing the true figure to be higher.

When droughts in the region worsen, many wild animals, including elephants, flock to the forests of Kerala from nearby regions like Tamil Nadu. The threat to these animals increases as their concentration increases in constrained areas. Many small forest streams and ponds will dry up completely during the drought, and by February and March many areas of the forest completely lack water, compelling animals to spread outside the forest.

When these wild animals, including elephants, wander outside the safety of the forests, they come into farms and other populated-areas. This leads to widespread human-wildlife conflict (HWC). People frequently rush to see animals that have ventured into human-populated areas, which can irritate wild animals and invite accidents. In the last two years hundreds of humans and even more wild animals have been injured in Kerala due to such conflict. Many deaths have also occurred.

Droughts tend to affect elephants more than other wild animals, given their considerable daily water needs. Elephants exiting forests in search of food and water cause constant conflict with the locals. With the regularity of such incidents, local government and the Forest Department are in the unfortunate position of having to constantly address the protests and grievances of locals. They are also tasked with driving elephants back to the forest, which can be costly and dangerous.

With this crisis in mind, the Kerala Elephant Foundation has a plan to maintain and enrich water bodies in the forest as a part of drought prevention activities. This involves maintaining water availability by transporting fresh water in tankers to dry ponds within the forest, and to set up temporary fresh water ponds. Thus the Kerala Elephant Foundation will carry out interventions that will protect and sustain animals and reduce human-wildlife conflict.

The Kerala Elephant Foundation is committed to building a better world, for elephants and for people. More details of this project to follow.