Why Karnataka’s elephants love coffee and humans like elephant dung coffee

Close to 30,000 elephants criss-cross 33 reserves, spread over 10 landscapes in 14 states, covering about 80,000 sq km of forests across India. Elephants in the country are both domesticated and part of the wild forests. There are also the feral elephants, who have joined the wild after differing periods of domesticity. Wild elephants that occasionally visit human territories outside the forests for various reasons usually return after a few days.

But in Karnataka, a strange phenomenon is being witnessed — elephants are camping in the coffee plantations and also procreating there. In Kodagu, Hassan and Chikmagalur, Shivamogga, North Kanara and part of South Canara districts in the Western Ghat region elephants are ‘feeling at home’ in coffee plantations. The state, which has the country’s highest elephant population at 935, has recorded 161 as living in plantation areas.

“In the past, wild elephants used to come to coffee gardens and fields at night and return during the day. But now, born and raised in coffee plantations, they stay put. They are used to living here,” Kodagu district chief conservator of forests Manoj Kumar told The Federal.

Many of the elephants that have been born in coffee plantations do not accept forests as their homes. “Even if they are driven to the forests, they return to their 'original habitat' of coffee plantation areas,” Kumar said.

The phenomenon first began about 50 years back.

“Coffee estates began to spring up in Karnataka around 100 years ago. However, the coffee growing boom started around the 1970s. Coffee estates near forest areas attracted the jumbos as they are very fond of the smell of coffee and also love to eat the plants. Thus slowly the coffee land became a new habitat for elephants. Their number is steadily growing,” retired forest official G Chinnappa said.

Some believe that fences prevented elephants from making their way back to the forests. Over the years, National Highways and coffee estate owners have installed electric or solar fences which have blocked the elephant corridor and made it impossible for elephants to leave coffee plantations. Thus the animal adjusted to the coffee land habitat.

Additionally, several dams and power projects near rivers in elephant corridors emptied the bamboo plantations. Elephants love to eat bamboo and bamboo shoots become natural fences which prevent elephants from crossing over to human habitations. The disappearance of these natural fences allowed elephants to reach human habitat. Since elephants like coffee plantations, they choose to stay put once they reach the area.

But a huge part of Karnataka’s coffee estates is actually encroachment on elephant corridors. Elephants are known to have very sharp memories and they remember the coffee lands as their homes.

Whatever the reason, in the coffee plantations of Kodagu, Hassan and Chikmagalur districts, elephants have adjusted themselves to the climate. They eat jackfruit, walnut, coconut, bamboo, banana, and sugarcane found in the area, and depend on the water of the lake, ditch and such sources. During coffee season, they eat the coffee crops because jackfruits and other things elephants find edible do not grow in coffee season. Interestingly, for coffee growers the coffee-seed-laden dung of elephants is a ‘catch’.

Coffee beans from elephant dung

The coffee eaten, and then excreted, by elephants is the highest quality coffee. “The evidence of the fact that elephants eat coffee is found in elephant dung which is filled with coffee beans in these areas,” said Rajaram Gowda, a coffee planter in the Chikmagalur area.

The coffee made from the coffee beans in the elephant dung is the most delicious. After the elephant eats coffee, it stays in its stomach with other food particles for about 10 hours. During that period, it is said that proteinaceous elements and other properties are added to it. “Since elephants eat only the best coffee that is ripe, the best seeds are collected and that is another reason coffee seeds found in elephant dung give tastier coffee,” said Dr Umesh Krishna, a veterinary doctor connected to the Forest Department of Karnataka.

Earlier, wild elephants used to enter plantations and eat coconut, banana, areca nut and palm trees. On the way, coffee plants were attacked and destroyed by these elephants, who would leave after finishing the banana and coconut stock around. However, in the past few years now, elephant herds have been staying on the coffee plantations instead of going to the forest. They eat coffee when there are no coconuts, coconuts or palm trees.

While this has become a worry for coffee growers, there is a demand for coffee beans found in elephants’ dung in foreign countries. In some areas like Kodagu, Chikkamagaluru, and Hassan, people are buying the coffee beans found in elephant dung and sending them abroad. “It is likely to become a hugely profitable business in the future,” said a coffee distributor Chandre Gowda of Chikmagalur.

The ‘dung coffee’ seems to have a global appeal.

A lot of elephants have camped on the plantation of coffee grower Achanda Kaveriappa of Virajpet in Coorg and he has collected the coffee beans from elephant dung. The coffee from the seeds he collects are sent to his son in the US. The American friends of Kaveriappa’s son have found the coffee to be very tasty and made a special request for it. “The tribals who collect elephant dung from the areas provide it to the coffee dealers, Achanda Kaveriappa said.

In the past, there was a huge demand for the coffee beans found in the poop of wild cats. However, recently the number of wild cats has decreased and such coffee beans are not available. Elephant coffee beans are now in greater demand and more expensive than ‘wild cat coffee’, said Ramesh Kumar Gowda, a coffee distributor.

“I have suggested that such coffee beans be tested in a lab. There is a belief that this coffee has increased digestive power,” Manoj Kumar said.

Elephants in Karnataka

According to the Elephant Census 2023, Karnataka ranks No. 1 in India with 6,395 elephants, an increase of 346 from 6,049 in 2017. Elephants have been found in 23 of the state’s 32 forest divisions. The Census report said that 80 per cent elephants are in Protected Areas (PA) and 935 are outside PAs.

Out of 935 elephants, about 161 were sighted within private lands, such as coffee estates. These private lands are serving as additional habitats for elephants, but also leading to increased human-wildlife conflicts. The remaining estimated 774 elephants outside the Protected Areas (PA) were sighted within the Reserved Forest areas of the respective forest divisions. These Reserved Forests are not part of the formal PA network but may still offer some level of protection and natural habitat for elephants.

Overall, the distribution of elephants in Karnataka highlights the importance of both the Protected Areas and Non-Protected Areas in supporting elephant populations. The Census report says conservation efforts should consider the needs of elephants in both types of habitats to ensure their long-term survival and coexistence with human communities.

To identify the elephants which have made coffee plantations their habitat, a separate datasheet was prepared by officials. This listed elephants sighted outside the forest areas in places such as coffee estates and other private plantations using a direct sighting method.

Principal chief conservator of forests (wildlife) Subhash Malkhade said that there has been a slight increase in the number of elephants in Karnataka and Tamil Nadu and that the carrying capacity of Karnataka is good. “The focus now is on improving elephant habitats including Coffee land habitat,” he added.

‘Coffee consuming’ elephants

The ‘coffee land elephants’ are reportedly not as dangerous as wild elephants. Because they live in closer proximity to humans, they are familiar with human smell and live around peacefully. “However, when they go for breeding or move with their herd, they do feel threatened by humans and occasionally attack people out of fear for their safety. Even in coffee plantations, they get scared when people try to drive them away with firecrackers,” wildlife doctor Dr Chandra Shekhar of Shimoga forest range told The Federal.

Generally, these animals do not massively damage the coffee plant apart from eating them when hungry.

“But while being chased away by firecrackers, these elephants cause considerable damage to the plants and that they uproot the coffee plants while crossing the roads,” said Rajesh Kariappa, a coffee grower, who has witnessed elephants in his coffee estate in the Coorg district.

When wild elephants are chased away, they rush to the forest. Usually, frightened elephants do not return. However, elephants born and raised in coffee plantations cannot adapt to forest life no matter how hard they try.

Explaining the phenomenon, forest official Ramana Chandra said, “Elephants accustomed to the coffee land habitat attack humans in panic while being chased away from their adopted habitat.”

In the coffee land areas of Chikmagalur, Shivamogga and Coorg districts, the coffee plant workers fear going to the plantation areas.

In Coorg district, about 30 to 40 elephant calves were born in the coffee plantation itself. These have now become a concern for the forest department. Many plantation workers are not going to the plantations fearing elephant attacks. Farmers, on the other hand, are facing problems with their harvest and income is also declining due to the failure of plantation work from time to time. The Forest Department is studying how to deal with this new challenge.

In the past, wild elephants used to come to coffee gardens and fields at night and return during the day. But now, born and raised in coffee plantations, they stay put. “They are used to living here,” said Manoj Kumar.

This probably marks better days for human-elephant coexistence.