From servitude to freedom: Madhya Pradesh ends captive elephant practice after High Court push

In its recent order, the High Court had tasked the state government to rehabilitate elephants in captivity by appointing experts. It also sought status reports on the wild captive elephants in the state and pushed for a list of elephants that could be rehabilitated.

Speaking to The Indian Express, Anupam Sahay, the director of the Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve, explained the circumstances leading to Tridev’s initial capture. The elephant, which arrived from Chhattisgarh on February 25 last year, was captured by a joint rescue team of Bandhavgarh and Sanjay Tiger Reserve.

The Madhya Pradesh government had, during the hearings, expressed willingness to release two elephants from captivity following discussions with a court appointment expert.

“It was caught after serious incidents of human-elephant conflict occurred and is said to have killed at least two persons,” he said. It was later kept in captivity at Kanha Tiger Reserve for a “behavioural assessment”.

Last week, Tridev was finally released into Bandhavgarh Tiger (BTR) reserve, escaping its fate as a captive elephant that would have served the state wildlife officials in patrolling operations. It will now roam free, but will be under close monitoring by a five-person team.

According to wildlife officials, a committee was formed to conduct a detailed assessment of the elephant’s behaviour and health. A meeting of the elephant advisory committee was also held, in which it was found that the elephant had fully recovered and was fit to be released into the wild. “Its [the elephant’s] behavioural patterns had also changed,” one official told The Indian Express.

A senior wildlife officer at Kanha explained: “When the elephant stops chasing people or knocking down trees and eats normally, we know its behaviour is normal. We also observe small movements, like that of its ear and tail, to look for any signs of aggression and then release them.”

Sahay said the radio collar will enable better monitoring of the elephant’s movements.

Last week, Tridev was finally released into Bandhavgarh Tiger (BTR) reserve, escaping its fate as a captive elephant that would have served the state wildlife officials in patrolling operations.

“Earlier, villagers would tip off wildlife officials about elephant movements. But now, with radio collars, we can track their routes. Our teams reach villages in advance and advise people not to disturb the animals,” Sahay said.

Since elephants travel long distances, it was once difficult to track them.

“Now, monitoring is systematic, handled by a field team of 5-6 people[and] supported by layers of officers, communication staff, and beat officers, all working 24/7,” the official said.

‘Plight’ of elephants in captivity

Wildlife officials would earlier train captive elephants and use them as forest protectors. In 2017, when large herds of wild elephants began coming into BTR, wildlife officials grappled with an increase in elephant-human conflict.

Tridev’s release into the wild comes amid a legal challenge by Singhvi and his advocate Anshuman Singh, who have fought against the forest department’s elephant management practices.

During the hearing, L Krishnamorthy, the chairman for the state elephant advisory committee, promised Madhya Pradesh Chief Justice Sanjeev Sachdeva and Justice Vinay Saraf, that the state was undertaking an exercise to sensitise villagers and issue guidelines to rehabilitate captured elephants.

The Madhya Pradesh government had, during the hearings, expressed willingness to release two elephants from captivity following discussions with a court appointment expert.

It will now roam free, but will be under close monitoring by a five-person team.

According to court records, the state government, following the High Court order, had enlisted the assistance of a Kerala-based elephant expert and also informed the court that it would release one elephant from a list of 10 after deliberations with the committee.

Speaking to The Indian Express, Anshuman Singh, the petitioner’s lawyer, detailed the “systemic” issues related to captured elephants.

“Unfortunately, the forest department has been issuing orders for the capture of elephants and their confinement in constructed enclosures called ‘kraals’, where they have no space to move. These elephants are then subjected to training for use by the department,” he said. “This practice is entirely against both the language and the spirit of Section 11 of the Wildlife Protection Act.”

He emphasised the court’s recognition of these problems: “Recognising this, the courts have passed strict orders in such matters. There have been multiple instances where elephants were captured even though there was not a single case of human death involved. Captured elephants are trained through extremely cruel methods to make them obedient and to serve departmental purposes”.

Singh highlighted the fatal case of an “elephant captured from Sidhi, which later died while being held by the Forest Department in Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve”.

During the hearing, B.D. Singh – the state’s deputy advocate general — further submitted that out of the 10 elephants captured in Madhya Pradesh in the past decade, two have died.

“The court had summoned the chairman of the Elephant Advisory Committee to appear in person. In court, the officer admitted that the elephant died due to injuries sustained during the capture process,” he said.

The forest department is now making a list of captive elephants that may be released. This also includes the lone survivor of the herd of elephants that died eating Kodo crops last year. The female calf named Ganga is now 10 months old, and wildlife officials doubt whether it can ever be rewilded.

“She lost her mother’s protection and has become part of our camp. We feed her milk by hand, and she plays with other camp calves. But we are conscious that calves should ideally be rewilded after assessing their mental health,” Sahay said.

According to wildlife officials, a list of 10 elephants was drawn up, out of which three have been rewilded. However, it’s going to be difficult to rewild the ones that have spent more time in captivity.

Bilaspur-based veterinarian Dr Pawan Kumar, who has worked with wild elephants, explained: “When the wild elephants spend more than three years in captivity, it’s difficult to rewild them. They may get used to human conditions and run after villagers associating them with food. The villagers, in turn, begin setting up electric fencing which kills them off”.

Sahay said there was still a need for captive elephants that “play a crucial role in controlling wild herds”.

“Captive elephants cannot be replaced with technology. For at least the next 25 years, we will continue to rely on them,” he said.