Odisha to deploy trained elephants to drive away their wild counterparts

Bhubaneswar: The Odisha government has decided to deploy trained elephants to drive out the wild counterparts that are straying into human habitations and unleashing mayhem.

The trained pachyderms will also help forest guards and officials in other regular works in jungles. The initiative is expected to ward off man-animal conflict in forested pockets of the state.

In the initial phase, five elephants from Kapilash in Dhenkanal district will be brought to Chandaka Dampara Wildlife Sanctuary on the outskirts of Bhubaneswar to receive Kumki training.

Odisha Principal Conservator of Forest (PCCF-Wildlife) Susanta Nanda said, “Trained elephants are needed to mitigate man-animal conflict. The state government is planning to impart training to elephants initially at four places -- Chandaka, Satkosia, Kapilash, and Similipal. Later, the training will be arranged at Debrigarh Sanctuary too. The elephants will be trained by expert mahouts. As Odisha lacks such mahouts, they will be brought from other states.”

He also added that the forest department has drawn up a special blueprint to mitigate the man-animal conflict.

The training programme for elephants is nothing new to Odisha. In the 90’s there was a training provision for elephants at Chandaka and Similipal. However, the initiative gradually petered out. Now, the forest department has decided to impart training to elephants for various reasons.

The trained elephants will help forest officials in forest protection, cleaning tracks in forests, rescuing wild animals in danger, helping forest officials to tranquillize wild animals, and transporting seized items from smugglers and poachers in forested areas.

Wildlife expert Lala AK Singh said that once trained, the elephants will take the commands from mahouts and come in handy in the rescue of wild animals from wells or ditches.

The forest department has decided to take five out of seven elephants from Kapilash for training.

Environmentalists, however, do not appear much enthused over the state government’s decision to take away five elephants from Kapilash for training.

“What will the visitors coming to Kapilash see if most elephants are taken from here? The state government should think for organizing elephants from other places for training,” observed environmentalist Sishir Satpathy.