Odisha seeks 4 kumki elephants from Tamil Nadu to reduce human-elephant conflicts
Amid the rising number of man-elephant conflict in the State, the Odisha government has decided to engage trained kumki elephants to reduce potential loss of human and elephant lives.
Bhubaneswar: Amid the rising number of man-elephant conflict in the State, the Odisha government has decided to engage trained kumki elephants to reduce potential loss of human and elephant lives. It has sought four kumki elephants from Tamil Nadu government for the purpose. Odisha Forest and Environment Secretary Satyabrat Sahu has written a letter to his Tamil Nadu counterpart Supriya Sahu in this regard.
“In recent years we have been facing significant challenges in mitigating human-elephant conflicts. Your help in getting trained kumki elephants would greatly assist us in addressing these conflicts effectively and humanely. Kumki elephants can be deployed strategically to help us to manage and drive wild elephants thereby reducing damage to crops, human habitations and the potential loss of both human and elephant lives. These elephants can also be deployed for forest patrolling and rescue operations,” Satyabrat Sahu said in the letter,
“Understanding that Tamil Nadu has a successful and commendable program in place, whereby kumki elephants are trained and utilized for wildlife conservation purposes, I would request you to provide us with four kumki elephants for deployment in conflict prone areas of Odisha. These elephants will serve as invaluable asset to our State’s Wildlife Organization, aiding our efforts to minimize conflicts and safeguard both human and wildlife interests,” he added.
The Forest and Environment Secretary also said that it is also requested that the mahouts taking care of those kumki elephants may also be deputed along with the elephants, for only initial handholding support to our local mahouts to get them acquainted with those kumki elephants.
“In light of urgency and magnitude of the human-elephant conflict issue in Odisha, I would request your prompt consideration of this proposal. Your support will significantly contribute to our ongoing conservation efforts and prove instrumental in mitigating wildlife conflicts in Odisha,” he requested.
Ms Kalinga