Odisha knocks on Tamil Nadu’s doors to help tackle jumbo attacks, seeks four Kumki elephants and mahouts

In a letter to Supriya Sahu, his counterpart in Tamil Nadu, the Odisha officer said the Kumki elephants will serve as an invaluable asset to the state’s wildlife organisation and aid its efforts to minimise conflicts.

As Odisha lacks trained mahouts, the state has also requested Tamil Nadu to depute mahouts to take care of the Kumki elephants and to provide initial handholding support to the local mahouts in Odisha.

“In light of the urgency and magnitude of the conflict in Odisha, we have requested for prompt consideration of the proposal. The Kumki elephants will be deployed in conflict prone areas. The support will significantly contribute to our ongoing conservation efforts and prove instrumental in mitigating wildlife conflicts in Odisha,” said a forest department official.

The Odisha government also hopes to revive its elephant training programme with Tamil Nadu’s help. It is initially planned at four places including Chandaka in Khurda district, Satkosia in Angul district, Kapilash in Dhenkanal district and Similipal in Mayurbhanj, and will be later expanded to other areas, said forest department officials.

Wildlife expert and retired forest official Lala A K Singh said Odisha introduced the programme with the help of Kumkis in the 1990s in Similipal and Chandaka, and it needs to be revived in view of the growing conflicts.

The Odisha government’s move comes amid frequent reports of human casualties due to jumbo attacks. On Thursday, a wild sub-adult tusker entered Baripada town in Mayurbhanj from Similipal forest and wreaked havoc, forcing people to remain indoors for six hours.

According to official figures from Odisha’s forests department, 925 people died and 212 were disabled in human-elephant conflicts in the state in the past 10 years, from 2012-13 to 2021-22. As many as 784 elephants also died in the state during that period.