MADIKERI: The tamed elephants belonging to conservationist and wildlife researcher Prajna Chowta are being transferred to the possession of the forest department.
A total of eight elephants belonging to Prajna are being shifted from Dubare forest to Ramapura Elephant Camp in Bandipur as per the orders from the state.
Prajna Chowta is the co-founder of Aane Mane Foundation - which was started to study elephants closely to enable their and their habitat conservation. The base camp of the foundation was located in the forests of Dubare and she had been nurturing many elephants under her care since 2000.
However, the residents across Dubare alleged that the elephants from Prajna’s foundation often raided the crops and caused immense damage. A complaint in this regard was forwarded to the state by the residents and the forest department officials. Following this, in August this year, the Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (Wildlife) and Chief Wildlife Warden ordered the confiscation of the elephants owned by Prajna.
On Thursday, the Kushalnagar division forest department officials started the transfer process.
“All the elephants will be shifted to Rampura Elephant Camp in Bandipur in two days' time. There are eight elephants including two adult females, a Makhna male, and elephant calves,” confirmed Ananya Kumar, RFO.
This is the first of the incidents where a herd of eight elephants is being transferred together. Ramapura Elephant Camp has 13 inmates and will now host eight more elephants.
“Everyone knows about the elephant problem, which is much more serious than my particular case and far from being solved. Thanks to my elephants, I have been able to develop a monitoring system that has produced crucial data and has helped save human lives. However, the forest cover has shrunk. Further, the barriers that had been placed across Dubare by the forest department were damaged due to various reasons. Wild elephants come and go as they please and on rare occasions take along with them a couple of tamed elephants. This is the reason why it is extremely difficult for the department to allow minimum autonomy to the Dubare camp elephants. Whatever criticisms, the difficulty of managing the elephants ultimately falls on the most deprived in our society – the tribal people. I wish to pay tributes to the Jenu Kurubas,” shared Prajna Chowta through a release.