Kodagu, Dec 23: Five tamed elephants from Dubare elephant camp in Kodagu district were shifted to Madhya Pradesh on Thursday.
MP government had requested Karnataka government to provide five tamed elephants to fight tiger menace and other wildlife animals in Bhopal region of that state. “After legal and administrative procedures were followed, the Principal Chief Conservator of Forest (PCCF) Wildlife gave written permission to shift the elephants,” a top forest official said.
Eight mahouts and two veterinary doctors have accompanied the elephants to ensure that the state elephants acclimatize to the new environment, surroundings and the people in Madhya Pradesh. The five elephants shifted from Dubare Camp are General Cariappa (8 years), General Thimmayya (8 years), Vaali (40 years), Lava (21 years) and Maruthi (20 years).
Recently, the Karnataka High Court had ordered that an elephant camp should have only 15 elephants. However, Dubare elephant camp had 32 elephants. Recently, the forest department established another elephant camp at Harangi in the same Kodagu district and 12 elephants were shifted to the new camp. “As of now, Dubare camp has 20 elephants. Five have been shifted to Madhya Pradesh. Now the strength of the elephants is 15,” an official explained.
Meanwhile, Dubare elephant camp has received request from the officials to capture four notorious wild elephants in the district following a demand from the villagers and farmers.
“These four wild elephants have been causing immense damage to the crops in and around Alur Siddapur region of Somwarpet region. It is in the best interest of the crops and the people that these four wild elephants are caught at the earliest,” said Prem, a farmer who owns paddy fields at Malambi near Kodlipet in Somwarpet taluk of North Kodagu.
Man – Animal conflict is on the rise following encroachment of forest and elephant corridor by human beings. It is because of this reason that there has been an increase in the incidents of elephants and Cheetahs entering villages and causing injuries to the people and damaging the crops.
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