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A new home for pachyderms

— Photo: Lingaraj Panda

A resident of Antei village taking a look at the hording put up by the Forest Department about the do’s and don’ts while wild elephants come close to their crop or dwellings.

ANANTEI (GANJAM DIST): A herd of 10 elephants from Lakhari sanctuary have started to use newly developed forests by the rural ‘Van Sukshya Samities’ at a distance of around 15 km from the city as their new abode.

According to forest officials these elephants have almost settled in this area for three years. They are not returning to their original abode inside the Lakhari sanctuary. To date this elephant herd has not injured or killed any human in this area although they destroy some paddy fields during the harvesting season.

Pabana Sethi of Anantei village said they were sure that these pachyderms would not harm any humans till humans do anything to panic and harm them. The Forest Department has put up wall writings and posters at these villages on the outskirts of the city to educate people about do’s and don’ts when wild elephants roam near their village. At the Bikashpur village people said they see elephants near the reservoir but they rarely try to come near their village.

These elephants from Lakhari have preferred to leave the sanctuary due to shortage of food and water, fragmentation of their habitat, encroachment of forest land by illegal cultivation and tribal hamlets, said S.N.Mohapatra, Divisional Forest Officer of Berhampur. Around three years ago this herd strayed out of the sanctuary and reached Ramguda forest which is located near the city.

The elephants found this area to be free of poachers and more undisturbed than the area marked as sanctuary for them.

They found ample water at the Ramguda and Dakhinpur reservoirs. The six Van Surakshya Samities comprising inhabitants of villages near these two reservoirs and on the periphery of Ramguda forest had also rejuvenated the peripheral forest area. According to Mr Mohapatra the elephants found these forests more dense and secure than the Lakhari interiors.

With time the villagers have also started to learn to live with these pachyderms. The villagers of Kumbhajhari have created a water reservoir on a hill near their village with their village funds so that elephants get satisfied with it and do not venture out to their village for water. But this elephant herd is being continuously tracked by forest officials and villagers have been provided logistics to drive them away if they come too near human habitations.

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