Jumbo herd 'blocks' highway

Jalpaiguri: Traffic along the Chalsa-Lataguri stretch of NH31 came to a screeching halt on Monday morning as a herd of around 10 elephants, including calves, walked along the road from the Gorumara National Park.

Vehicles could not move for around one-and-a-half hours as the herd went on roaming on the highway, with the calves busy in playing with dust and the foliage.

Local people said the herd had come out of Gorumara around 5.30am. "This stretch of the highway is a known crossing zone of elephants and other wild animals. Usually, elephant herds do not halt on the highway but simply cross it in ones and twos. But on Monday morning, it was a different situation altogether as the herd stopped on the highway," said Dibyendu Deb, the president of the Lataguri Resort Owners' Welfare Association.

While vehicles stopped on both sides of the highway, many tourists who had come out of their hotels and resorts to visit the forest in SUVs - the first jungle safari is conducted in Gorumara at 5.30am - were elated to see the elephants on the road, particularly the calves.

"It was a road blockade, but by elephants," said Debajit Dutta, a resident of Sodepur in North 24-Paraganas. "We were in deep sleep when the staff at the resort informed us about the elephants. We took no time and rushed to the highway."


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2 elephant carcasses found in Karnataka

MANGALURU: Two elephant calves – eight-month-old and another about 18-month-old, were found dead beside the railway tracks deep inside the Shiradi Ghat forest, 10 km from Yedakumeri railway station towards Sakleshpur in Karnataka, on Monday morning.

Forest officials suspect that the calves may have been hit by a train, probably goods train, late on Sunday night while they were trying to cross the tracks near a bridge or while straying beside the track.


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Post-mortem will confirm which train killed 2 elephant calves: DCF

MANGALURU: The forest department has booked a case against Indian Railways after two elephant calves, one which was eight-months-old and another about 18-months-old, were found dead beside railway tracks deep inside the Shiradi Ghat forest, between Subrahmanya and Yedakumari railway stations, on Monday morning.
Sivaram Babu M, deputy conservator of forests (DCF), confirming this to TOI, said veterinarians conducted the post-mortem at the spot, and the carcasses were later cremated near Yedakumeri on Monday.

He said that under sections of the Karnataka Wildlife Protection Act, an FIR was registered at the jurisdiction police station. “Only after the post-mortem report is released, can we ascertain which train caused the death of the jumbos. The reports will have the time of death, and based on that time-frame, one can find out which train passed that stretch at that time,” he said. This is the first such death of elephants in the recent past, due to trains, on this stretch.

It is suspected that a train carrying goods to Bengaluru from Mangaluru, may have hit the two male calves, while they were crossing the track.

Sivaram said the station master of the Yedakumari Railway Station informed the Forest Department about the incident on Monday morning. The station in-charge was informed about the incident by the loco-pilot of a train passing the stretch.

Quoting veterinarians’ preliminary reports, Sivaram said the death is due to accident, where the train engine must have hit the jumbos in the ghat section. The animals were found dead in the slopes of the Western Ghats, deep inside the forest.


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Increasing deaths of elephants on railway tracks spark concern in Karnataka

BENGALURU: If the Hospet-Tinnaighat and Miraj-Londa rail lines have become veritable deathtraps for wildlife, another line — the Sakleshpur-Mangaluru track — too turns hazardous for elephants and other wildlife. Two elephant calves were killed at Yedakumeri in Shiradi Ghats of Sakleshpur taluk on Monday. Forest officials said they will call for a joint meeting with railway authorities to address the issue.

However, wildlife conservationists have called for strict action against the South Western Railway (SWR) authorities in the wake of increasing incidents of killings on rail tracks. They added that SWR has not been implementing mitigation measures or adhering to the guidelines given by the Railway Board for operations in forest areas.Yedakumeri is an important elephant corridor area and almost 30 elephants are based here with breeding mothers and calves.


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Suffering elephants giving joy rides to tourists at Amber fort

Jaipur, Apr 24 (PTI) Elephants offering joy rides to tourists at the iconic Amber Fort here have been found to be suffering from blindness and tuberculosis and are often forced to carry loads heavier than 200 kg, an examination of over 100 elephants at the spot has found.

As per the examination conducted by the Animal Welfare Board of India (AWBI) during December 2017 to March 2018 at Hathi Gaon, 19 captive elephants of the 102 elephants were observed to be blind, either unilaterally or bilaterally, rendering them unfit for any work. 10 elephants were found suffering from tuberculosis and 28 were found to be above 50 years of age.

Elephants were found to be under severe psychological distress. The tusks of 47 elephants appeared to have been cut. The elephants were seen carrying loads heavier than 200 kg, the report said.

Elephant rides are a major tourist attraction at Amber Fort.

There were 132 privately owned captive elephants in Rajasthan in January 2015, 110 in 2016 and 102 in 2017, it said. As per the report, out of the 102 elephants, matters related to legal compliance of keeping and using 53 elephants are pending before the magistrate court in Jaipur and hence the matter is subjudice.

48 elephants seem to have been issued illegitimate ownership certificates by the Rajasthan Forest Department (RFD) as they mention ‘source of purchase’ and ‘present market value’ of the elephant. Both these citations indicate commercial value of an elephant, which is prohibited under the law, the report said.

Based on the compilation of observations and its interpretations as per important legal provisions, guidelines of Ministry of Environment and Forest and parameters set by AWBI in its application form, the report said none of the 102 elephants qualifies all the criteria set for registration with the AWBI under PARR, 2001. “No elephant can be registered for offering rides at Amer Fort due to load restrictions mandated by the MoEF guidelines and other provisions of the law,” it said. The report also recommended an inquiry into the current practice of cutting tusks without taking necessary permission from the forest department and into why there are two elephant calves in private custody in Jaipur, in rampant violation of wildlife protection laws. Additionally, the accurate number of captive elephant population in Rajasthan also needs to be ascertained, it said.

Animal rights activists have demanded a complete ban on atrocities on animals.

“Shocking report of blind and TB-infected elephants has come to fore after examination. The elephants are forced to carry backbreaking loads day in and day out. The rides must stop,” PETA India Lead Public Policy Officer Nikunj Sharma said He said PETA India is asking authorities to intervene and protect these suffering elephants.


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Elephants damage houses in Rairangpur

A herd of jumbos, which has strayed into human settlements in Rairangpur, has instilled fear in the residents giving them sleepless nights.

The residents of Gorumahisani and Bijatola blocks under Rairangpur wildlife division are encountering the threat since three days. The local residents and the wildlife department officials are trying to drive the animals out of their areas, but till now they have failed to contain the menace.

The elephants have damaged at least 16 houses and a school building besides devouring grains, banana trees, vegetables and pulses in Chhatramandal Kero village under Gorumahisani block. The herd damaged four houses on Saturday night and 12 houses were damaged in Kaduani and Kehjuri villages under Bijatola block. Besides they allegedly devoured stored rice for midday meal and ransacked the furniture of the Khejuri School barging into the campus.

The villagers are guarding their boundaries and burning firewood to scare the elephants to protect their life and property. The herd consists of two tuskers, nine female elephants and calves.

"Depredation squads, consisting of forest staff and protection personnel, have been engaged to drive the animals out. Traditional methods, including beating drums, bursting crackers and rotating fireballs will be used for the purpose. On Saturday, they damaged houses in Bijatola and on Sunday they reached Khejuri forest," he said.

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Dalma on alert over jumbo entry

Jamshedpur: The Dalma range office in Mango is on a high alert as two separate herds of about 50 elephants, including calves, may slip into the 192sqkm sanctuary anytime.

The jumbos are stationed at Jhunjka and Patamda, which are located close to the sanctuary. Eighteen from the group were spotted near Nutandih in the periphery of the Dalma reserve.

Instructions have been issued to foresters, guards and trackers (village youths recruited as daily wagers to keep a tab on the movement of elephants and other animals) to keep a close watch on the herds who are ambling back home after their annual sojourn in the jungles of West Midnapore and Bankura in neighbouring Bengal.

"We are on alert as we want safe passage of the jumbos into the sanctuary. We don't want them to damage standing crops in human settlements surrounding the sanctuary," Dalma range officer R.P. Singh said.

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Male elephant found dead on patta land

A male elephant was found dead at Mathipalayam village in Madhukkarai range on a patta land. Forest department officials suspect it was electrocuted and are planning to book the owner of the land.

Locals residents, who found the carcass around 6am, had informed the forest officials. “We have begun investigations. Veterinary doctor Manoharan conducted a postmortem. We will take legal action based on the evidences,” conservator of Coimbatore circle S Ramasubramanian said.

The 20-year-old tusker was regularly seen in the area in the last three months and was a crop raider, department officials said.

Last year, five elephants, including two calves, had died of electrocution in Coimbatore region alone.


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Wildlife adventures are putting animal welfare at stake

Millions of tourists criss-cross the planet each day in search of new adventures, excitement and unique experiences. Tour operators are forever coming out with new and innovative ways to lure thrill-seekers. Among them, the most popular is wildlife tourism. Besides elephants, tigers, whales, mountain gorillas, camels, water buffaloes and yaks, the latest tourism attraction includes diving with killer whales, swimming with whale sharks and walking with wolves and wild bears. In the wake of ecotourism, animal exploitation and abuse have become rampant. Though there are strict rules to protect animals in most countries, they are often poorly enforced.

In Thailand, elephants, world’s largest land mammals, are a huge tourist draw. Its multi-million dollar tourism industry uses nearly 2,500 jumbos for treks and excursions. Unfortunately, the ordinary tourist remains oblivious to the exploitation and abuse this animal is subjected to when kept in captivity for training.

Elephant calves usually remain attached to their mothers for up to 16 years. Calves as young as six-month-old are taken away from their mothers and thrown in stockades, and prodded with spikes and electric prods till they obey the trainers’ command. Some activists recently released video clips showing young jumbos being chained and shocked with electric cattle prods and hit with bull hooks to get  trained for back safari. Following this, while many tour operators in the country declared that they will no longer offer elephant rides, others continue to do so. In this regard, the Thai Elephant Conservation Centre has set an example for many of us to follow.

In India, too, elephants are subjected to similar abuse. Around 600 elephants are involved in tourism-related activities as well as entertainment shows and fort tours. An archaic wooden howdah, weighing upto 60 kg, is strapped onto the jumbo’s back and it is forced to carry the weight of four tourists besides the mahout, totalling to almost 400 kg. Imagine the pressure on spine the poor animal takes! They suffer from chafe, swollen legs, maggot infestations, wounds etc.

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