The picturesque Dalma Wildlife Sanctuary is abuzz with activities of over 100 jumbos these days. After staying in Bengal jungles for almost a year, the elephants have started returning to their Dalma home.
All the 130-odd jumbos are finally back home after their annual sojourn to the jungles of West Mindnapore and Bankura in neighbouring Bengal.
A forest official said several tourists are attracted towards as besides the flora and fauna, people also visit the sanctuary to watch elephants. It is the best time to spend time at the elephant abode.
“The elephants can be seen indulging in activities near the watering holes. The tuskers give visitors a reason to cheer. They can also use the hideouts built the watering holes,” the official informed.
Dalma range officer (West) Dinesh Chandra said some of the jumbos have moved uphill while some were still anchored on the foothills. “We have asked village youths recruited as daily wagers to keep a tab on movement of animals have been asked to be alert and asked to report about elephants near human habitat,” he added.
Officials of Dalma informed that over a dozen have come back while others are on their way. Others are expected to leave Mednipore and Bankura jungles shortly.
Abundance of water and fodder had held up jumbos in forest of neighbouring Bengal. Jumbos generally return home to the reserve by the end of February or at the most the first week of March. But this year they overstayed in Bengal.
The perennial water sources are basically ponds running 15 to 20 feet deep while the new artificial water sources are similar to the lake with adequate slope area across the lake for easy access of the wildlife to the water source. The depth of the artificial water sources is also around 15 feet.
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 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. He said perennial water sources in the Dalma forest range have been for long catering to the water need of the tuskers but owing to the rising temperature several of the water sources got dried up which led the department to initiate the work on large scale.