Mother Elephant And Calf Searching For Food Get Stuck In Ditch, Rescued After36 Hour-Long Operation

Wildlife authorities in Karnataka have rescued a female elephant that got stuck in the mud and had fractured its leg after it fell into a ditch.

The mother elephant and its calf were searching for food near a coffee estate in Kadagaravalli of Sakleshpur taluk on Monday when it fell into the slush-filled pit.

The impact of the fall resulted in the mother elephant suffering injuries on both her front legs. This resulted in the elephant being stranded in the ditch.

Locals who spotted the two animals alerted the Forest Officials.

The operation to lift the animal began on Tuesday morning.

The calf was separated from the scene with the help of tamed elephants and the mother was later lifted with heavy machinery.

The doctors suspected the animal had a fracture and would take time to stand. They decided to monitor it for a few days and then decide whether it should be shifted to an elephant camp.

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Odisha discoms to disconnect power during elephant movement

Bhubaneswar, Nov 16 The Odisha government has asked the power distribution companies (discoms) to disconnect power supply in elephant corridors during the movement of pachyderms, said an official on Friday.

The direction of the state government came after it drew flak following the death of several elephants including seven in Dhenkanal district due to electrocution recently.

"The death of elephants due to electrocution in recent times has been a matter of great concern. In this regard it is requested to disconnect power supply in elephant corridors as well as movement areas on getting credible information from Forest Department or any reliable sources regarding movement of elephants/ wildlife in the said areas," said Energy Department Special Secretary Surajit Das in a letter to the discoms.

Further, it is requested to ensure reconnection of power supply after ascertaining safe exit of wildlife from the said area, he informed.

"This instruction must be followed meticulously and any deviation will be seriously viewed by the government," Das added.

Union Minister of Women and Child Development Maneka Gandhi recently requested Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik to take urgent measures to stop elephant deaths in the state.

In a letter, she alleged that distribution companies are being given a free hand in elephant corridors without necessary oversight.

Seven elephants had died of electrocution under Dhenkanal Sadar forest range last month.

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Jumbo sensors to check track deaths

Sensors designed by IIT Delhi to help track the movement of elephants near railway tracks and minimise chances of accidents will be among the talking points of a wildlife conference to be held in north Bengal’s Chalsa on November 16 and 17.

The conference is aimed at finding ways to use technology to prevent the death of wild animals on railway tracks and mitigate man-animal conflicts.

“When fitted to railway tracks, the sensors would track visuals, movement, sound, lights and other parameters before corroborating the inputs and feeding them into an automated algorithm,” said Subrat Kar, professor of electrical engineering at IIT Delhi.

“The algorithm would then decide if an elephant or a herd was near the tracks. A message would be sent to the nearest station master and the driver of trains about to pass through the area,” said Kar, who will explain how the sensors work at the conference.

The conference is being organised by the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, and the Bengal forest department. Raman Sukumar, elephant expert and professor at IISc, will be present along with representatives of railways, the Wildlife Institute of India, NGOs and local communities.

The conference will also be attended by representatives of the Ear to the Wild Foundation, which promotes wildlife conservation through technology. The foundation is slated to give a presentation on acoustic sensors that can detect social calls produced by elephants.

In 2013, the ministry of environment and forests had proposed the use of technology after a nudge from the Supreme Court, which was hearing a PIL to curb elephant deaths on tracks and by electrocution. The project began at IIT Delhi after that.

A pilot project to test the sensors is underway at the Rajaji National Park near Dehradun.

The railway tracks between Siliguri and Alipurduar, stretching close to 165km, have seen more than 60 elephants being killed by trains since 2004, said Animesh Bose of the Himalayan Nature and Adventure Foundation.

The tracks pass through several forest areas, including the Mahananda Wildlife Sanctuary, Jaldapara National Park and Buxa Tiger Reserve. Almost the entire stretch is accident-prone for elephants.

“The most number of deaths have been caused by freight trains. In the past, deaths have also been reported from non-forested areas such as tea gardens and railway bridges,” Bose said.

The apex court earlier asked the railways to reduce the speed of trains running through elephant corridors. But railway officials have complained that reduction in speed affects punctuality of trains. “It also has a cost implication, which is why we don’t depend on a single indicator that can make a mistake. The idea is to be sure about the presence of elephants before relaying the message to the railways” said Kar of IIT Delhi.

Ravi Kant Sinha, the chief wildlife warden of the state, said the sensors will be have to be field-tested to check their efficiency. “Technology is readily available but the challenge is to calibrate them,” he said. Similar sensors have been designed in the past but have failed the calibration tests, he said.

Sinha said whether the sensors would be installed in north Bengal only if it was suitable to the needs.

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NGT forms team to probe jumbo deaths

New Delhi: The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has constituted a team to probe the death of seven elephants which were electrocuted after coming in contact with a livewire near Kamalanga village in Odisha’s Dhenkanal district.

A bench headed by NGT Chairperson, Justice Adarsh Kumar Goel, constituted a team comprising representatives of the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF), Dehradun-based Wildlife Institute of India, director of Project Elephant and Chief Wildlife Warden of Odisha.

The team will visit the site and suggest measures to prevent recurrence of such incidents in future, due to electrocution or other causes which can be applicable to wildlife areas in the entire country, the NGT said.

“The representative of MoEF will be the coordinator. The visit may be undertaken within two weeks from today,” the bench, also comprising Justice SP Wangdi, said in its October 30 order.

The green panel had directed the Central Electricity Supply Utility of Odisha (CESU) to deposit Rs 1 crore with the Chief Wildlife Warden of the state within a week and asked it to submit its stand in the case to the MoEF.

The tribunal said the incident ‘prima facie’ shows apathy to the wildlife by CESU as 42 elephants have died of electrocution due to sagging livewires and at least 18 were killed in Dhenkanal division since April 2010 as per a news report.

It appointed advocate Amit A Pai to assist the tribunal in the matter and posted the matter for consideration of the report December 20.

The tribunal passed the order after taking note of the news report. The article said that according to the forest department, electrocution occurred on account of negligence of CESU.

Seven elephants were electrocuted after coming in contact with a livewire near Kamalanga village October 27.

A herd of 13 jumbos was passing through the village in Sadar forest range and seven of them came in contact with the 11-KV wire.

The carcasses of the pachyderms, including a tusker and five females, were spotted in the morning by villagers who informed forest officials.

While three carcasses were lying on a road, four others were inside a canal. The incident happened apparently because of sagging electric wire, the forest officials said.

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Popular jumbo joyride terminated

Betla National Park in Palamau, a major attraction for wildlife enthusiasts in east India, has withdrawn its popular elephant ride with immediate effect, citing a Supreme Court order.

Deputy director (north division) of Palamau Tiger Reserve in Betla park Anil Kumar Mishra said the rides had been terminated from October 21.

“The Supreme Court recently asked all wildlife sanctuaries and national parks across the country to stop the practice. Hence, we have closed our elephant ride for tourists,” he said.

Asked if the decision would affect revenue of the national park, Mishra added that they would have to assess the same after November-December, the two months that witnessed highest footfall.

Until Saturday, Juhi was the lone elephant that offered tourists a Betla safari. She made two 30-minute trips every morning with half a dozen tourists each time.

Mishra conceded that the female jumbo, who was now 60 years old, should gave retired quite sometime back.

“She is ageing and her health is fragile. Since the elephant ride was very popular among Betla visitors, we had no option until now,” he said.

According to a tracker, Juhi’s companion Anarkali died two years ago and that left the elephant in deep shock, which again was responsible for her failing health.

“Juhi had refused food for two days and broke a boundary wall in sheer grief,” he recalled.

Betla National Park has four captive elephants — Rakhi, Sita, Kaal Bhairav and Murugan — besides Juhi. Sita, Kaal Bhairav and Murugan were brought from Karnataka in March-end. Sita and Kaal Bhairav were training to be tourist rides until the ban.

Mishra said three of quintet would now be used for patrolling. “Rakhi and Murugan are too young. They will need more training before they can patrol the park. The others will man the park,” he elaborated.

Sources, however, expressed doubts given the fragile health of both Juhi and Sita, the latter having suffered a bout of foot-and-mouth disease a few weeks ago.

Mishra admitted that Sita had needed medical attention. “She lost weight and had to be put on antibiotics and multivitamins. She has irritable bowel syndrome and suffers from an upset stomach every now and then. She is a lactating mother too. She breastfeeds her calf Murugan. All this has taken a toll on her health,” he said.

The official hinted at acute dearth of funds for the animals.

“There is no separate food fund for these five elephants. The ranger and foresters manage with great difficulties. They often beg
and borrow food with no cash in hand. The expenses are spiralling. The matter has been brought to the notice of senior officials in Ranchi,” Mishra added.

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