Bettiah: Five trained elephants brought from Karnataka in 2018 have now become a crucial force in strengthening security at Valmiki Tiger Reserve (VTR), Bihar’s only tiger habitat. Spanning nearly 988 sq km along the borders of Uttar Pradesh and Nepal, the reserve presents unique challenges for wildlife protection.The elephants — Raja, Manikantha, Bala Ji, Dron, and Roopa — were inducted as part of a strategic initiative to enhance surveillance in dense and inaccessible forest areas. Their deployment has significantly improved patrolling in core and border areas, especially during the monsoon season as heavy rainfall frequently leads to waterlogging and soil erosion, making forest tracks unmotorable.“In such conditions, these trained elephants help reach remote areas and ensure the safety of wildlife and valuable forest resources,” said Gaurav Ojha, conservator of forests and field director of VTR.He said given the Reserve’s proximity to an international border, it remains a high-priority zone for preventing poaching and timber smuggling. “Mounted on elephants, forest guards gain a height advantage and also benefit from the animals’ acute sensory abilities to detect suspicious movements from a distance,” Ojha said.Abhishek, an elephant expert who has been working on human-elephant conflict mitigation in the Terai Arc Landscape from Dudhwa Tiger Reserve to Valmiki Tiger Reserve, said the transition from Karnataka’s Nilgiris region to Bihar’s Terai landscape initially posed challenge for these elephants. “They understood only Kannada commands when they arrived. Four mahouts from Karnataka were instructed to stay back in the Reserve for nearly three years to help them acclimatise. Over time, they were retrained to respond to Hindi commands, enabling smooth coordination with local staff,” he said.He further said their diet was also modified to suit the local climate. “The Karnataka-style feed of paddy and salt was replaced with a 40kg daily diet comprising straw, maize, wheat bran, and locally available sugarcane,” he said.The forest department, according to him, is planning to bring four more trained Kumki elephants to mitigate human-elephant conflict (HEC), support rescue operations, and strengthen patrolling. “With plans to introduce rhinoceroses in the Reserve, these Kumki elephants are expected to play a crucial role in preventing human-wildlife conflict (HWC) and enhancing monsoon patrolling,” Abhishek said.
