Wild elephants in northern part of Chhattisgarh are once again on the rampage. The pachyderms which otherwise are of calm nature according to wildlife experts, are displaying a marked ‘behavioural change’ with increased tendency to attack and kill humans without provocation.
On the intervening night of Sunday and Monday, a group of three wild elephants arrived at Kohla village adjacent to jungles in Manendragarh range of Koriya district. A total of 17 houses of tribals and backward class people living in the village have been damaged by elephants, informed the Range Officer of Manendragarh B R Sahu.
In a similar incident, an elderly man was mauled to death by elephants in Chandrapur village of Pratappur Range in Surajpur district on January 2. On January 4, three persons coming on a bike were also attacked by elephants wherein Nanduram (60) was killed, according to forest officials.
Wildlife expert Amalendu Mishra who has been watching this ever rising problem of wild elephants in Surguja region for about two decades now, says that it seems a ‘species-wide trauma’ is taking place in wild elephant population.
“Continuous habitat loss, killings and struggle for survival has somehow made the wild elephants crueller,” Amalendu notes.Sharing his experiences, Mishra said that the tendency to kill in elephants seems to have increased.
“Earlier, wild elephants used to chase people to shorter distances; however, now it has been noted that they run after people for a considerable distance and then kill them. launching surprise attacks on humans without being disturbed is also a new trait developing in their behaviour which is alarming,” he added.
Expressing grief over death of people in Pratappur, Principal Chief Conservator of Forest (Wildlife) BN Dwivedi stated, “Due precaution is being taken by the Forest Department. People are informed wherever elephant movement is taking place; but despite warnings, they (people) go in the forest and such incidents happen,” the PCCF told The Pioneer.
According to him, presently 250 wild elephants are in Chhattisgarh and more are coming into the State due to continuous loss of forests in neighbouring Odisha and Jharkhand. “For exact tracking of elephants, we are planning to attach special collars on wild elephants,” he said.
To a query on low compensation given over crops damaged by elephants, the PCCF stated that the department has raised this issue. “However any decision over this issue is yet to be taken,” he said.