Context: The Valparai plateau is gearing up for the annual migration season of elephants, with nearly 100 elephants currently moving across tea, coffee, and cardamom estates, swamps, and forest fragments.

About Annual Migration

• Elephants in the Valparai plateau undertake an annual migration that typically starts in September and continues until March. The elephants usually migrate from the Kerala side to the Valparai plateau (Tamil Nadu)

About Valparai plateau

• Valparai is a hill station located in the Coimbatore district of Tamil Nadu, India.

• It is situated 3,474 feet (1,059 m) above sea level on the Anaimalai Hills range of the Western Ghats.

• Valparai shares its boundaries with Anamalai Tiger Reserve, Parambikulam Tiger Reserve, Eravikulam National Park and Vazhachal forest division.

• The region comprises a total of 56 estates, primarily tea estates, contributing to the picturesque landscape.

• Private tea companies own a significant portion of the land.

• It has a mild tropical monsoon climate (Am) with a short dry season and a long rainy season.

• It is one of the wettest places in Tamil Nadu.