Bhubaneswar: The Odisha government has sought four Kumki (also called Kunki) elephants from Tamil Nadu for deployment in conflict-prone areas in the state.
In a letter to his counterpart in Tamil Nadu, Supriya Sahu, Additional Chief Secretary, Forest, Environment & Climate Change Department, Satyabrata Sahu said that Odisha has 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 away 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,” he wrote.
While praising Tamil Nadu’s successful and commendable programme, whereby Kumki elephants are trained and utilised for wildlife conservation purposes, he requested for four such elephants to aid Odisha’s efforts to minimise conflicts and safeguard both human and wildlife interests. “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 them,” he further said.
While requesting for prompt consideration of this proposal, considering the urgency and magnitude of the human-elephant conflict in Odisha, Sahu added that the Kumkis will significantly contribute to the state’s ongoing conservation efforts and also prove instrumental in mitigating wildlife conflicts.
Last year, the wildlife wing of the Forest department here had initiated efforts to bring Kunki elephants from Karnataka or some other state, but the progress of the move is yet to be known.
A high-level team of the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) had also recommended use of jumbos to strengthen patrolling in Similipal Tiger Reserve after poachers gunned down two forest staff, including a range officer in-charge, last year.
Meanwhile, the Forest department has also asked Kapilash sanctuary officials to send at least three captive elephants to Chandaka for training. “Elephants are in captivity at four places in Odisha and they could be used for assisting in conflict management effectively after their training,” PCCF (Wildlife) Susanta Nanda told mediapersons.
It takes four to five years to train an elephant to Kunki level and those can also prove helpful in taming and capturing the wild ones, forest officials said.
