Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): An elephant that was under treatment for nearly a year at Kanha Tiger Reserve is now fit to return to the wild and will soon be released into the Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve, most likely day after tomorrow.
The elephant will be fitted with a radio collar before release to enable forest officials to track its movements and intervene if necessary.
Deputy Director of Kanha Tiger Reserve, Puneet Goyal, told Free Press that the animal had turned aggressive after witnessing the electrocution death of another elephant in Anuppur a year ago.
In a subsequent human-wildlife conflict, the distressed elephant injured a villager fatally and sustained injuries itself before being rescued.
Initially aggressive and untamed, the elephant posed a major challenge for the veterinary team. Over time, however, it formed a bond with the mahout, responding to commands like a domestic elephant.
Now that its physical and behavioural condition has stabilised, officials have decided to release it into Bandhavgarh, which has established elephant herds, unlike Kanha, which currently doesn’t have any.“Once released, we’ll observe whether it naturally joins a herd or not,” said officials.
This is not the first time Kanha has successfully rehabilitated a wild elephant, sources said.
Cheetah project prep at Veerangana Durgavati
Officials at Veerangana Durgavati Tiger Reserve are awaiting directions from higher authorities on preparations for the proposed cheetah translocation project.
A team from the Wildlife Institute of India (WII) had already conducted a site survey several months ago to identify suitable areas within the reserve for introduction of cheetahs next year.
