Bhubaneswar: The forest department’s wildlife wing has decided to set up three kunki training centres for orphaned elephants at Chandaka Wildlife Sanctuary, Similipal Tiger Reserve and Kapilash. Kunki elephants are used to monitor tigers, tranquillise animals, including tigers, and tame aggressive elephants.
While the Chandaka centre will house eight elephants, Similipal will have five and Kapilash will train seven.The orphaned elephants are those that are rescued, separated from herd, calves separated from their mothers due to some accident or aggressive jumbos lodged in various rescue centres.
“We need mahouts to train the elephants. The government has already sanctioned posts of mahouts and assistant mahouts. We will bring out their service conditions and recruitment modalities. Besides, we have written to the government of Tamil Nadu and Andaman and Nicobar to provide skilled mahouts so that we train ours and the kunki elephants,” said principal chief conservator of forests (wildlife), Susanta Nanda.
He said the tiger population in Similipal is increasing. “It is necessary to keep trained kunki elephants ready, as they provide the best support in tracking moving tigers and jumbos,” Nanda added.
In the recent past, two trained kunki elephants — Rajkumar and Mahendra — were brought from Similipal to Satkosia Tiger Reserve to track the movement of tigress Sundari, which had been translocated from Bandhavgarh tiger reserve in Madhya Pradesh. The tigress had strayed into human habitation and turned man-eater.
Sarat Behera, divisional forest officer (Chandaka), said the training centre is being set up at Kumarakhunti in the sanctuary. “Construction of the facility will take a few months to be completed,” he said.
In 2015, an aggressive tusker that strayed into Nandankanan zoo by breaking a boundary wall, was driven out by two kunki elephants from Chandaka named Jashoda and Nanda.
While the Chandaka centre will house eight elephants, Similipal will have five and Kapilash will train seven.The orphaned elephants are those that are rescued, separated from herd, calves separated from their mothers due to some accident or aggressive jumbos lodged in various rescue centres.
“We need mahouts to train the elephants. The government has already sanctioned posts of mahouts and assistant mahouts. We will bring out their service conditions and recruitment modalities. Besides, we have written to the government of Tamil Nadu and Andaman and Nicobar to provide skilled mahouts so that we train ours and the kunki elephants,” said principal chief conservator of forests (wildlife), Susanta Nanda.
He said the tiger population in Similipal is increasing. “It is necessary to keep trained kunki elephants ready, as they provide the best support in tracking moving tigers and jumbos,” Nanda added.
In the recent past, two trained kunki elephants — Rajkumar and Mahendra — were brought from Similipal to Satkosia Tiger Reserve to track the movement of tigress Sundari, which had been translocated from Bandhavgarh tiger reserve in Madhya Pradesh. The tigress had strayed into human habitation and turned man-eater.
Sarat Behera, divisional forest officer (Chandaka), said the training centre is being set up at Kumarakhunti in the sanctuary. “Construction of the facility will take a few months to be completed,” he said.
In 2015, an aggressive tusker that strayed into Nandankanan zoo by breaking a boundary wall, was driven out by two kunki elephants from Chandaka named Jashoda and Nanda.