Newly constructed Borban elephant camp in Chorbahuli range of Mansingh Deo Wildlife Sanctuary, under the jurisdiction of Pench Tiger Reserve (PTR), Maharashtra welcomed its first two residents on Monday morning. Two male elephants named Bhima (53 years) and Subramanaya (25 years) arrived at PTR from Karnataka. The camp, spreading over more than two ha area, is located on bank of the Navegaon Khairi reservoir. The Forest Department plans to bring a group of four elephants from Karnataka, of which two have already arrived. One elephant Ranjan (25 years) will arrive at Pench next month where as the fourth jumbo, a female, will also come soon. All the three males are from Dubare and Matigodu camps of Madikeri Division of Nagarhole Tiger Reserve, Karnataka. All these three male elephants are trained while process of identification of the female elephant is still going on, informed Dr Prabhu Nath Shukla, Deputy Director, PTR in a press release.

 

Both elephants were welcomed by Adv Ashish Jaiswal, MLA, Ramtek; Dr Prabhu Nath Shukla; and Rahul Shinde, RFO. The purpose of establishing the elephant camp is to train and use elephants for rescue operation, tiger tracking and patrolling. Besides, the area of the camp is located on the safari route. Thus, the elephants will also be used for the eco-tourism purpose. Initially, there is plan to bring group of four elephants consisting of three male and one female. In the near future, the number of elephants will be increased. The Forest Department established two protection camps in Chorbahuli Forest Range, including Borban camp of PTR for these elephants. The second camp, which is close to the Borban camp, will accommodate more elephants in future.

 

The camps are deep inside the forest with less human intervention. It has kitchen, storage, medical supplies, micro chipping and other facilities. Along with these two elephants, their Mahouts have also arrived from Karnataka whereas a trained team of Mahouts and care takers are already ready to take charge of these jumbos in the camp. “Elephants are very helpful for patrolling in areas where even vehicles do not have access. In tiger rescue, these elephants will play a pivotal role. We can use them for eco-tourism purposes also,” said Dr Shukla. The Department felt the requirement of elephants for these tasks during the rescue operation of T1 tigress (Avni). Then, the Department had brought elephants from Madhya Pradesh. The project cost is Rs 80 lakh and the department sought funds under the Compensatory Afforestation Fund Management and Planning Authority (CAMPA).