Two male elephants kept captive in the Tiger Reserve in Madhya Pradesh will be freed and released into the forests of their home state Chhattisgarh. Elsa Foundation had written a letter to Additional Chief Secretary of Forest Department, Ashok Baranwal, demanding to free both the elephants and release them in their home range (forests of Chhattisgarh). The Forest Department has agreed to this.
caught seven-eight months ago
In fact, in Madhya Pradesh, two male elephants who came from Chhattisgarh in February and March 2024, were captured from Shahdol and Anuppur and kept hostage in Kanha Tiger Reserve and Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve. On the demand of the organization, the forest department is ready to release the elephants back into the forest after taking them hostage.
On March 2, 2024, a male elephant (age 10 years) was captured from North Shahdol Forest Division and kept in Rama Elephant Camp of Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve. The second elephant (age 25 years) was captured from Anuppur Forest Division on 25 February 2024 and kept in Kisli Elephant Camp, Kanha Tiger Reserve.
In a PIL pending in the Jabalpur High Court regarding their release, Madhya Pradesh Forest Department has said that it will release the elephant kept in Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve and the other elephant has suffered injuries due to being tied with chains, he is fine. Will be released as soon as it is done.
Demand to release both the elephants together
It is planned to release both the elephants in different forest areas (away from their home range). The forest department committee has written that if the release of the first elephant fails, that elephant will be captured again and kept in captivity. On this, Prakash, founder of Elsa Foundation, has written in the letter that releasing an elephant in an unfamiliar forest area has tragic consequences. Such abandonment is extremely cruel and painful for the elephant. In Africa displacement or resettlement is carried out in large groups of elephants.
Foundation disagrees with the thinking of Forest Department
The Forest Department has formed a committee to release these elephants. According to the opinion given in the report of the committee, these elephants have become accustomed to humans and cannot survive in the forest. But the Elsa Foundation does not agree with this. He says that these are wild elephants, which were caught only a few months ago.
Accusations made against Forest Department
In this case, wildlife expert Ajay Dubey alleges that whichever elephant comes to Madhya Pradesh from Chhattisgarh, the Forest Department takes it hostage for use in the Tiger Reserve. It is a very serious matter that the two elephants that were held captive in February-March claimed to have suffered three casualties each, whereas the documents show that there were only three casualties in Shahdol and Anuppur together.
