Maharashtra rolls out red carpet for tusked guests

The elephant herd in Gondia district

Gadchiroli saw the first sign of elephants in three centuries after a herd of 23 pachyderms walked into Maharashtra from Chhattisgarh last year. While the elephants went back in March, about two dozen, including a tusker, returned in August. As they anticipate frequent sightings of the big animals in border areas, forest officials have begun mapping their movement as part of a long-term plan to minimise man-animal conflicts.

Last October, a herd of 23 elephants arrived in Gadchiroli from Chhattisgarh and left Maharashtra on March 16, 2022. In August this year, 23 elephants came back to Gadchiroli. They are now in Gondia division. This has prompted the forest department to deploy 70-80 officials along with a hulla team from Bengal to monitor their activities around the clock. A hulla team drives away elephants from human habitats and paddy fields.

Houses damaged last week by the elephants at Nagandoh village near Arjuni Morgaon in Gondia district

Assistant Conservator of Forest Dada Raut from Wadsa Division said they expect the elephant herd will go back and might come again. "We have started taking GPS coordinates of the location where the herd is moving. The GPS coordinates are being plotted on google maps and later we will plot the same on the GIS software. The data will help us understand the movement pattern of the herd and based on this information we can have a strategy in place which will help us prevent human-elephant conflict and also alert the villagers in advance."

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Forest officials said the herd has damaged crops and houses at some places and they have been providing quick crop compensation. A man was killed by the tusker from the herd and another was injured. While a female elephant leads a herd, experts said, she directs the tusker to protect the elephants. At times, the tusker separates from the herd and launches a surprise attack on those seen as a threat.

An elephant from the herd that is in Gondia division now

Elephant expert Sagnik Sengupta from NGO Stripes and Green Earth Foundation who has been helping the forest department to prevent human-elephant conflicts said the elephants could make Gadchiroli and Gondia their migratory home and this seasonal movement will continue in the coming years. Chances are that they might make Maharashtra their home, he said.

"The need for GPS plotting the entire route right from the Chhattisgarh- Maharashtra border near Talwargarh village and then in the entire path taken by the herd within Gadchiroli and then in Gondia divisions is important to ascertain the movement pattern and crop damages. The exact locations can be taken along with the water bodies used especially outside the forest cover," said elephant expert Sagnik Sengupta.

The herd damaged properties last week

The information will help in the preparation of long-term plans to minimise conflicts by means of "bio-fencing the agricultural patches, setting up tongi (machaans) to monitor the movement towards the agricultural fields. As elephants tend to take the same route every time, this GPS mapping of the entire stretch will help in long-term mitigation plans", said Sengupta. Another expert said the herd will not move out of Maharashtra before summer.

23
No of elephants currently in Maharashtra