CHENNAI: The elephant population in the State is reasonably stable, according to R. Sukumar, professor and chairman of the Centre for Ecological Sciences, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore. Prof. Sukumar, who was here recently, told The Hindu that in the past few years, the incidence of poaching had come down all over the country, and this could be one of the reasons for the stabilisation of the elephant population. Male-female ratio As for the male-female ratio of the elephants in the wild, Prof. Sukumar said that it was 1:25 in Mudumalai and 1:10 in Anamalai. In Kerala, the ratio was 1:70, and Karnataka was the best among the southern States, with 1:5. In Tamil Nadu alone, the elephant population in the wild would be more than 4,000. The Centre had collected data on the elephant corridors and the migratory pattern of the pachyderms in all four southern States. Furthermore, the Centre had mapped the entire area of elephant corridors in the four States, he said. He felt that States should try to strengthen the corridors by acquiring the land in and around them and declaring it part of the protected area. A few years ago, a pilot project was launched in West Bengal where the crop-raiding elephants were identified and radio-collared. The movement of these animals was tracked and data were stored. Whenever the animals moved closer to human habitations, Forest Department officials were alerted. This helped the officials to drive the animals away, he said. Straying leopards Of late reports of leopards straying into human habitations had increased considerably, he said. In many States, the carnivores were captured and released into the wild. As in the case of elephants, the authorities could radio-collar leopards to monitor their movement. An increase in the leopard population all over the country, he reckoned, would cause more man-animal conflict. Radio-collaring the animals would help to reduce it to a great extent.