A young elephant and 3 states: Why Goa is dialling Karnataka for help

With the elephant continuing to stay in the area, the Goa government has reached out to Karnataka for assistance in relocating and rehabilitating it. The Goa Forest Department has requested that a specialised trained unit of ‘kumki’ elephants and mahouts from Karnataka be sent to rescue the elephant and relocate it to a camp in Karnataka. Simultaneously, efforts are being made by forest officials to drive the animal back to Maharashtra.

A Forest Department official in Goa said, “Kumki elephants are trained to rescue and help send wild elephants back to forest areas. At least six kumkis could be required to assist in tranquilising and restraining this elephant. The final dates of the rescue operation are yet to be finalised, but an in-principle agreement has been reached (between Goa and Karnataka).”

After a meeting with Karnataka Forest Minister Eshwar Khandre, Goa Forest Minister Vishwajit Rane said on Saturday, “We held a joint meeting in the presence of senior officials from the forest departments of Goa and Karnataka to deliberate on a collaborative approach towards addressing the growing challenge of man-elephant conflict. The immediate issue before us is Omkar, the elephant that has moved into Goa from Maharashtra and has been destroying crops. As part of the deliberations, we have requested that Omkar be rehabilitated at the Karnataka camp, where he can be given the care and environment he requires. The resolution is that this matter will be acted upon within the next 14 days.”

Forest officials on lookout duty.

He also said the discussion focused on the “need for a tripartite agreement between Goa, Maharashtra and Karnataka, aimed at building capacity and implementing coordinated strategies to mitigate human-elephant conflict across the region”.

‘Adventurous spirit’

Forest Department officials said the elephant entered Goa from Maharashtra’s Netarde village on the morning of September 14 and wandered in Torxem village for around two days before moving to Tamboxem.

“During their adolescence, male elephants typically leave the herd or are chased away, but they roam in the vicinity. Omkar has an adventurous spirit. He is suspected to have strayed sometime last year and had gone from Sindhudurg to Kolhapur alone a few months ago before returning,” said a Forest Department official in Goa.

Officials said this was the first incident requiring a rescue operation for an elephant in Goa since 2008, when three elephants crossed over from Maharashtra and stayed in Goa for more than a month.

“Goa does not have a resident elephant population. Hence, the Forest Department does not have the requisite infrastructure to tranquilise and relocate elephants,” the official said.

In Tamboxem, several teams from the Goa Forest Department have been stationed round-the-clock to monitor Omkar’s movements. After a meeting with the residents on Sunday, officials decided to flatten some fields using a tractor to better spot the elephant. “He is more than two metres tall, but we were facing problems in spotting him in the fields,” a forest guard said.

“The immediate priority is to avoid any possibility of elephant-human conflict and to ensure the safety of the elephant. He sometimes roams at dawn. A narrow rivulet separates the houses from the paddy fields. Omkar has been reluctant to cross this rivulet, which is acting as a buffer. If he strays near the human habitation, we light a firecracker to ward him off,” said the forest guard.

Destroyed banana plants.

A question of livelihood

With the rescue efforts likely to continue until the Dussehra festival, the residents of Tamboxem village, who mainly rely on subsistence farming of paddy, coconut, areca nut and banana, fear for their livelihood.

“We are scared to go in the fields,” said Shailesh Samant, a local farmer. “We have not been able to rear our buffalo fearing the elephant may attack. He is feasting on coconuts, bananas and areca nuts. We understand that he also would be stressed, but we have suffered a lot of damage to our crops.”

Prasad Gawandi, another farmer, said, “It takes several years for a coconut tree to grow. It is like raising a child. So many of our coconut trees, areca nut and paddy cultivation have been destroyed. Our main demand is that he is quickly driven towards the Maharashtra border.”

Officials from the Directorate of Agriculture visited the village for an inspection on Monday.

Ranjit Mhapsekar, Zonal Agriculture Officer of Pernem, told The Indian Express, “After the elephant is relocated, we will assess the crop damage in the village and compensate farmers as per provisions of the Shetkari Aadhar Nidhi scheme.”

Naveen Kumar, Conservator of Forests (Wildlife and Eco-Tourism), Goa, said, “In consultation with villagers, we have taken certain measures to drive the elephant towards Maharashtra’s forest corridor. Our vigil teams are monitoring his movements round-the-clock to ensure the safety of the villagers and the animal, and mitigate any possibility of conflict.