RANCHI: The forest officials of Jharkhand have directed the field officers to chase back the lone elephant, which has killed 14 people across five districts of the state since March this year, to its parent herd in the Tundi forests of Dhanbad district.
The 10-year-old male elephant, banished from his herd in Tundi earlier this year, had meandered into Santhal Pargana through Giridih.
There, over the course of the next 90 days, it trampled 14 people to death.
Between June 20 and June 24, the elephant had trampled five people in Jamtara and Deoghar districts.
With the fatalities rising, there has been a growing chorus among the residents of Santhal Pargana to declare the elephant a rogue and bring in professional hunters to kill it.
“We have deployed several teams of foresters to track the elephant and ensure that it stays on course towards Tundi forests, from where it moved out earlier this year.
As per the reports, the elephant crossed Barakar river on Wednesday night and is heading towards the forests,” state chief wildlife warden Rajiv Ranjan said.
“Our objective is to ensure that the elephant rejoins its herd.
This will stop the mayhem and loss of lives,” he added.
The last time Jharkhand declared an elephant rogue was in August 2017.
The rogue, a 25-year-old tusker wandering in Sahibganj district, had killed 15 people in between March and August of 2017.
The elephant was declared rogue and was shot dead as it had fatally attacked several people without provocation.
Prior to 2017, another male tusker was declared rogue in Bokaro in 2008 and was killed.
In 2005, a rogue elephant was gunned down in Latehar.
“One of the prime requisites for declaring an animal rogue is that it has to attack humans without provocation.
But in the case of Tundi’s lone male, it is the opposite.
Despite early warnings, the locals are provoking the elephant, pelting stones or are trying to take photographs.
But if the herd does not accept him back, it will become a problem for us,” a senior official, who is closely tracking the developments, told TOI.
There are around 590 elephants in Jharkhand’s forests.