BAGAHA: A herd of five rogue elephants, including a cub, have strayed from Nepal to Bhalu Thapa forest in Valmiki Tiger Reserve (VTR) of West Champaran district. The tuskers have uprooted and damaged many signboards in the forest. VTR officials were tracking the elephants by tracing their pugmarks.
VTR director-cum-conservator of forests, Nesamani K said: "Our employees have spotted the pugmarks at several places. We have not been able to track them because of dense forest and rainy season."
He said the tuskers came to Valmikinagar forest range close to Nepal. "Our teams have been trying to track the elephants and ensure that they do not enter the villages and endanger human lives or damage crops," Nesamani said.
Last year also, rogue elephants had strayed from Nepal and created panic in villages on India-Nepal border adjacent to VTR, including Parsauni, Rampur, Akawa, Bhikhana Hori, Gobardhana, Matiyaria, Sahodara, Manipur and Bhangaha.
Sources said it is not clear whether the elephants are the same as those last year. The forest officials from Chitwan National Park in Nepal and VTR have held several rounds of deliberations to keep a check on the entry of elephants from Nepal into the Indian forest due to the porous border.
The VTR director said he has instructed the staff to keep round-the-clock watch on the movement of elephants.
Trained elephants of VTR, namely Marikantha, Drouna, Raja and Bala ji, have been deployed with their mahouts to prevent rogue elephants from entering villages and crops in the fields.
