Bhubaneswar: The state government has urged Tamil Nadu to provide four kumki elephants to effectively address the issue of human-elephant conflict in Odisha.
Forest, Environment and Climate Change department Additional Chief Secretary Satyabrata Sahu has written a letter in this regard to his Tamil Nadu counterpart Supriya Sahu recently.
“Tamil Nadu has successfully trained and utilized kumki elephants for wildlife conservation purpose. I would request you to provide us with four kumki elephants for deployment in human-elephant conflict prone areas in Odisha. These kumki elephants will serve as invaluable asset to our wildlife organization and help us minimize human-jumbo conflicts,” Sahu said in his letter to Tamil Nadu government.
Kumki elephants can be deployed strategically to help Odisha Forest department officials manage and drive wild elephants away for minimizing damage to crops, human habitations and potential loss of lives. The kumki elephants can also be deployed for patrolling and rescue operations in forests, Sahu added.
The Odisha government also requested the southern state to send mahouts along with the four kumki elephants.
“The mahouts taking care of those kumki elephants may also be deputed to Odisha for initial handholding support to our local mahouts in handling those trained jumbos,” Sahu told his Tamil Nadu counterpart.
