Palamu Tiger Reserve (PTR) officials are keeping fingers crossed over the identity and status of the rampaging elephants. A herd of six elephants has left a trail of destruction in the core area of this tiger reserve.
Sources said this herd of six elephants raided Bareedohar village and injured two tribal males. The two have been admitted in Sadar Hospital, Daltonganj said DFO core of the tiger reserve Anil Kumar Mishra. DFO Core said the injured two have been given Rs 5,000 each for treatment. One of the two escaped trampling by the elephant but sustained severe injuries in his leg.
A couple of houses have also been damaged at Morwai and Kuchilla. Residents' BPl food too was eaten up by these elephants.
The PTR officials do not know the status of these 6 elephants. Are they of the PTR or are they a sub group of wandering elephants which came first in Garhwa’s Madgiri from Chhatisgarh and now they have descended upon the PTRIJ
Mishra seems too soft on the PTR elephants saying ‘ Our PTR elephants are not that aggressive as these six are. The PTR elephants do not cause such heavy destruction’.
He opined that this 6 elephant is a sub group of 16 elephants that reached
Garhwa’s Madgiri areas over the last ten days and now have come to PTR.
Apart from the status /identity of these elephants the other worry of this officer is if there is any pregnant elephant in this herd and if there is any such female elephant in the herd then this officer leaves everything to time saying ‘ If a herd of elephant has any pregnant elephant then the herd stays put till the pregnant one delivers the calf. It may take 15 to 30 days even. The other elephants keep guarding the pregnant elephant’. He warned any disturbance to them irritates them most and they react with devastation.
Mishra does not rule out that this rampaging herd ‘may stay put for a longer period of time if there is any female one there to deliver calf’. He said ‘ I have asked the locals and the forest guards to find out if there is any elephant whose belly is most protruding
and bulging. And if it is then the delivery is on the card
he reiterated.
Any drive back of this herd is despised by this officer who said without mincing any word ‘ Do you drive out a pregnant woman when she is in advanced stage of pregnancyIJ’ He added ‘Driving away these elephants is no
any solution. They will go on their own. They will take
the natural and trodden route for their passage to Chhatisgarh if they have come from there or if they are
of PTR then will return
to Bareysarn.’