BARIPADA: In Mayurbhanj, forest field staff and their seniors are burning midnight oil with 140-strong elephant herds out there in Baripada and Karanjia divisions. Yes, it’s winter and that time of the year.
A herd of 121 elephants is keeping the Baripada forest division busy. Having arrived from West Bengal in smaller groups, the large-bodied animals are feasting on paddy crops in Baripada, Morada and Rashgovindpur ranges during the day-time and resting in the vast expanse of sal forests of the Similipal landscape.
Their sheer number has sent the division on an overdrive to keep watch on them 24x7 to ward off man-animal conflict. At least 625 ‘gaja sathis’ (elephant trackers), and 120 protection staff besides forest guards and foresters have been pressed into service. Then there is a control room which works round-the-clock.
Every year, elephants take the corridors from West Bengal through Baripada, Badasahi and travel as far as Kuldiha Wildlife Sanctuary during the winters when the harvesting season nears. Food and foraging grounds apart, forest officials say the pachyderms have sensed the regions in Odisha are safer for delivering their babies which is why they make a beeline for this part of the country.
The 121-member herd in Baripada division consists of 39 tuskers and 47 females apart from 35 calves spread across forest six ranges such as Kaptipada, Bangriposhi, Deuli, Betnoti, Rashgovindpur and Baripada. Highest concentration, this year, has been in Betnoti where 64 elephants are camping.
With paddy and other vegetable crops to be harvested, villagers are on the watch. Earlier last month, a male elephant had to be tranquilised after it killed four persons within a week and packed off to Dhenkanal. Conflict has to be avoided at all costs. One major option is to keep the community in loop. While 125 villages which witness elephant movements have at least five ‘gaja sathis’ in their local areas, communication has been a key instrument of early warning.
“To keep villagers informed about elephant movement, Baripada division has enlisted mobile phone numbers of 10,000 villagers and put them on alert list. These community members primarily comprise PRI members, locals and volunteers who get a message and alert call about movement of elephants towards their areas,” says Baripada divisional forest officer A Uma Mahesh.
For forest field staff, the job is exhausting and fraught with risk. On Thursday, a ‘gaja sathi’ deployed in Betnoti range was bitten by a venomous snake during field duty and had to be immediately shifted to Pandit Raghunath Murmu Medical College and Hospital at Baripada. “Our team members ensured that he was provided timely treatment,” says Uma Mahesh.
For neighbouring Karanjia division, the task is to keep watch on a herd of 28 elephants that came from Keonjhar and entered the Gadadeuli forest.
In order to prevent entry of elephants into human settlements, locals set up all-night watch. Bonfires and firecrackers come handy at times. Some farmers have made temporary sheds on trees to keep a watch on the jumbos and drive them away from their farms using loud sounds.