The Hindu : National : Stray elephant still in chains in Orissa

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, Mar 06, 2006

National

National

Stray elephant still in chains in Orissa

Prafulla Das

Authorities clueless on how to take the elephant back to the forest

UNDER STRESS: This wild tusker is a showpiece for onlookers in Bira Ramchandrapur after it was tranquillised by forest officials. It killed two villagers and injured one. — Photo: Ashoke Chakrabarty

SAKHIGOPAL: A wild elephant, which was caught and chained after it strayed into Biraramachandrapur village in Orissa, is under severe stress. With the authorities clueless on how to handle the pachyderm, its return to the forest seems difficult.

"It is a difficult situation for us as we never had any such experience in the past," said Suresh Chandra Mohanty, Principal Chief Conservator of Forest (Wildlife). Making the elephant walk back to Chandaka [forest] is not possible, as it does not obey any command. "The only option left with us is to take the elephant in a truck."

The 30-year-old tusker covered about 60 km from the Chandaka forest, near Bhubaneswar, crossing several villages, before straying into Sakhigopal. The animal was tranquillised and chained after it killed two villagers and injured one on Wednesday. The elephant broke the chains on its hind legs on Thursday. It was tranquillised and chained again. The animal now is under severe stress with a large number of onlookers crowding the spot. A Forest Department employee and a few policemen stand guard.

There is no approach road to the area where the elephant has been chained. Further, there are no trained elephants that can be used to rescue wild ones. In such a situation, officials are planning to bring two elephants from the Similipal biosphere reserve, about 300 km away from here.

This is not the first time that an elephant from Chandaka has strayed into a village and killed humans. A total of 259 persons have been killed by wild elephants in the State between 1995 and 2004, according to official records. On the other hand, 200 elephants were killed by poachers between 1990 and 2005, while another 100 in accidents.

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