A young elephant of Dalma Wildlife Sanctuary named Rajni, who was rescued as a calf on this day seven years ago from Seraikela-Kharsawan, celebrated her symbolic birthday on Saturday with an eight kg cake. Foresters celebrated the occasion to also mark Wildlife Week. local school children were specially invited for the occasion.
Kamlesh Pandey, DFO, Dalma Wildlife Sanctuary, said that the event is designed as part of the Wildlife Week and also to make masses aware about wildlife behaviour. The kids were invited to make them friendly with the wild life.
Santosh Murmu, a student said he was really amused to see an elephant celebrating her birthday. “ I have been attending so many birthdays but this was really very special. We were really very happy to see an elephant smartly cutting her birthday cake with her trunk amid cheering school kids,” he noted.
The symbolic birthday party of Rajni, an eight-year-old girl elephant, to be hosted by forest range office of Dalma sanctuary, is one of the key attractions in Jamshedpur’s vicinity this Wildlife Week, celebrated across India between October 2 and 8.
Rajni was rescued as a baby calf from Seraikela-Kharsawan in 2010 and now the dwellers of Makulakocha village on Dalma foothills, can be seen loving the animal. Rajni herself is a member of the Elephas maximus family of Asian elephants, classified as an endangered species by the IUCN Red list of Threatened Species.
Notably Dalma is the best elephant habitat of Jharkhand, where the pachyderms love to spend their summer. Dalma used to be pleasing with temperatures less than 30 degrees C. But due to rising mercury over the years the elephants started migration to green pastures.
The availability of water during summer is all the more alluring for the elephants to migrate. There are over 80 elephants in the Dalma sanctuary. The elephants often have the tendency to go into agricultural fields adjoining the sanctuary in search of food. The forest department has made arrangements to keep them anchored in Dalma, by providing water and greenery.
The measures taken by the forest department include availability of adequate water holes, salt licks and sufficient food for the tuskers.
But these are not enough for all the elephants residing in the area.