10-yr-old elephant can’t be rehabilitated in wild, necessary to be shifted to Vantara for training: Forest dept to HC

As reported by The Indian Express in September, the elephant was seen frequently roaming in the forested regions in Sindhudurg district of Konkan region. The sub-adult-male elephant was earlier seen roaming in Pernem region of North Goa after being separated from its six-member herd in Sindhudurg district and was ransacking paddy fields and foraging for coconuts, areca nuts and bananas

The chief wildlife warden of the state Forest Department on Friday made submissions while responding to PIL by one Rohit Prakash Kamble seeking protection and conservation of wildlife particularly elephants entered into Maharashtra through Western Ghats.

On November 4, a division bench of Justices M S Karnik and Ajit B Kadethankar was informed by advocate T J Kapre for state government that the Authorities under Section 11 of The Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972  have initiated an action to capture the elephant, identified as “Omkar” and to rehabilitate the elephant to some other place, preferably at Vantara.

The state lawyer further submitted that it had become necessary to shift the elephant to Vantara and shifting and rehabilitation procedure is “only and only in the interest of the elephant  as also to avoid the wildlife and human conflict”.

On November 7, the state lawyer on behalf of the chief wildlife warden submitted that the authorities are “satisfied that the elephant ‘Omkar’ cannot be rehabilitated in the wild” as per second proviso to Section 11(a) of the Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972, which stipulated that the Chief Wildlife Warden has to record reasons for the same in the writing.

The HC then sought a detailed affidavit in reply from the chief wildlife warden to elaborate its stand within a week and posted further hearing to November 14.

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