Seventy two-year-old Mukunda Adkuji Meshram, who resides in Khairi village, believes that the elephant is an avatar of God. “Recently, after spotting an elephant at close distance, I went to the nearby temple, prayed and offered a coconut. After that, the elephant went away peacefully from the area,” he claims. Spirituality aside, Meshram has been urging fellow villagers to maintain a safe distance from the herd. Pics/Ashish Raje

After a lengthy meeting, the range officers and the hulla team begin patrolling the region, mashaals in hand, as the mid-day team accompanies them. Finally, at 3 am, we spot the elephants crossing a road near a canal. The team waits for two more hours, and only once they are satisfied that the herd has left for the forest, they call it a day. By then, slivers of the morning light have begun to pierce the sky.  

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For the past few months, farmers and villagers in the Gadchiroli and Gondai districts, both within 100 km of each other, have been losing sleep over this herd of 23 elephants that has migrated from a neighbouring district in the state of Chhattisgarh. And this is not a first.

The same herd first crossed over in October 2021, traversing a stretch of 400 km; they roamed the region for months before leaving in March this year, only to show up again in August.

According to wildlife experts, the area where the elephants are currently roaming might have been a traditional pachyderm route many centuries ago, which they might have abandoned over time. 

A home damaged by the elephants at Nagandoh village near Arjuni Morgaon in Gondia district

Habitat loss due to large-scale coal and iron ore mining in Chhattisgarh could be one of the reasons for the herd returning to Maharashtra, elephant expert Sagnik Sengupta, co-founder of the NGO Stripes and Green, tells mid-day. “The availability of water bodies, including small and big ponds, and lakes, and the abundance of food in the forests of Gadchiroli, Gondia and Navegaon seem to be another reason why the pachyderm prefers this area.”

The guests have kept the forest department and hulla team on their toes as this is a situation ripe for human-elephant friction. The hulla team is experienced in driving away elephants; this one was called in last year by an IFS officer who had worked in South Bengal as Divisional Forest Officer. 

Forest officers barricade a road in Khairi village with branches, preventing villagers from going any further, after receiving reports of elephants being spotted in the vicinity

Laxman Shivaji Chole, forest guard from Gondia Forest Division says that inputs from the hulla team have helped. “Every time we see the herd approach a field, we use torch lights and mashaals to gently direct them in the direction of the forest.” Around one hundred officers and NGO workers are currently deployed to patrol these areas.

And yet, the region has already seen one casualty. In the first week of October, 52-year-old Surendra Jethu Kadhaiwagh was trampled underfoot, and another man, identified as Johru Poreti, was injured in Tidka village after a mob tried to chase away the herd near Navegaon National Park.

Maruti Sauskar, his wife and his 30-year-old son Yashwant show the damage to their four-acre field and machaan in Kawtha village, Gondia, after a herd of 23 elephants ambled into their farm on a September evening

For forests officials, the situation is complex. While the number of elephants might appear small at 23, it’s difficult to anticipate where a herd, usually comprising a male tusker, female elephants and calves, might proceed overnight, making patrolling extremely challenging. Due to thick forest cover, it’s also difficult to keep a tab on the location of the herd during the day, which is when they tend to rest.

There is another key character in this plot, we learn when we visit the area in September. The lurking presence of CT1, a male tiger that has killed 13 persons in the three neighbouring districts of Vidarbha region i.e. Wadsa, Bhandara and Chandrapur in a span of 10 months. Thankfully, with the tiger’s subsequent capture on October 13, the team has one less worry on their hands.

Maruti Sauskar, his wife and his 30-year-old son Yashwant show the damage to their four-acre field and machaan in Kawtha village, Gondia, after a herd of 23 elephants ambled into their farm on a September evening

Technology is also coming in handy. Tuhin Satarkar, director, Rescues, RESQ Charitable Trust, who is tasked with manning a thermal drone that is bring used to offer the officials real-time updates, says, “This is the first time in India that wild elephants are being monitored using an UAV [unmanned aerial vehicle] with thermal cameras. Thermal drones can help take videos during the night, making the invisible visible. Since elephant herds move only after sunset, having this camera is helpful. Also, because it operates from a height of 100-plus feet off the ground, it doesn’t disturb the animals.” Thermal cameras can detect the heat signature of an animal from a distance and offer drone pilots crucial data that would otherwise be difficult to gather.

Sengupta, whose seven-member elephant management team assists the patrolling staff, says that the elephant is a new species in the area. This makes it crucial  that both, the forest team and the villagers are sensitised towards the specific behaviour of this mammal, which at adult stage ca typically weigh up to 5,000 kg.

Sunil Limaye; Tuhin Satarkar and Kulraj Singh

“We have been trying to educate the locals, and cautioning them about the dangers of moving outside, post sunset. Meetings with them are organised on a regular basis. We are also taking the help of the Police department, Revenue department, and village sarpanchs to prevent conflict,” shares Deputy Conservator of Forests (Territorial) Gondia, Kulraj Singh.

Mukunda Adkuji Meshram, 72, resides in Khairi village. For him, elephant is God. “Recently, after spotting an elephant at a close distance, I went to the nearby temple, prayed and offered a coconut. After that, the elephant went away peacefully from the area,” he claims. Spirituality aside, Meshram has been urging fellow villagers to maintain a safe distance from the herd. “They will only charge at you if provoked,” he tells them.  

The herd spotted in a field from a thermal drone. This is the first time in India that wild elephants are being monitored using an UAV (unmanned aerial vehicle) with thermal cameras. Thermal cameras can detect the heat signature of an animal from a distance and offer drone pilots crucial data that would otherwise be difficult to gather. Pic courtesy/Resque Charitable Trust

The irreversible losses that villagers have suffered due to damage to fields and crops has left the farmers in the area despondent. The Forest department is working towards providing compensation for crop damage.

Tekram K Lanje, a local from Kawatha village, says, “In some fields, the herd walks in to rest, leading to more damage. They are massive creatures. As a precautionary measure, I drive carefully when I am passing through the area.”

Laxman Shivaji Chole, forest guard from Gondia Forest Division, is part of the team that patrols the villages in the night

According to locals, the elephants have been seem climbing a nearby hillock and feeding on bamboo trees.

Brahmadas Keshav Bhandari, a villager from Arjuni Morgaon tells mid-day that since the herd is presently roaming close to their villages, many of them have been avoiding going to the fields. “We need to support the Forest department to prevent conflict. If we must to go out at night, we move in groups, or use a torch and flashlights.”

A forest officer seen cautioning a villager in Kawtha, Gondia  about the herd of elephants. Officers have been trying to educate locals, and warning them about the dangers of moving outside, post sunset. Meetings are being organised with village heads on a regular basis

Sengupta has suggested GPS mapping of the route taken by the herd. “The high and low conflict zones also need to be mapped,” he says. “This will help us reduce conflict in the coming years by using bio fencing [lines of trees planted on farm and field boundaries that give protection against cattle and wildlife]. There is also a need to create village depredation squads who will assist the forest guards while patrolling designated areas. The use of deterrents such as flash lights, chilli smoke and chilli crackers will also help.”     
   
The forest department has already begun the exercise of mapping the herd’s movement. Assistant Conservator of Forest (ACF), Dada Raut from Wadsa division, believes that the herd is likely to return to Chhattisgarh, but this might not be the last they see of them. “In order to anticipate their movement pattern, we have begun taking GPS co-ordinates of the locations they are covering. Each location is being plotted on Google maps, and will later be done on the GIS [geographic information system] software. The data will help us understand the movement pattern of the herd and based on this information, we can alert the villagers in advance, besides having a strategy in place.”

Locals from Khairi in Gondia light up crackers in the night to prevent elephants from encroaching their village

Considering the present status of the herd, Raut is of the opinion that the elephants will not move out of Maharashtra before the summer of March 2023. “This makes it even more important for the Forest department to have a long-term mitigation plan for this region,” says Sengupta.

Before this article went to press, the herd was last seen near Kurkheda village. It is now moving towards Wadsa division, from where, experts say, it might head towards Gondia. 

Brahmadas Keshav Bhandari; Tekram K Lanje and Sagnik Sengupta

Former Chief Wildlife Warden and Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (Wildlife) of state Sunil Limaye  lauds the Forest department staff, hulla team and the villagers for handling the challenge. “Tracking a herd of 23 elephants in dense forest areas is never easy,” he says. “All those involved in the operation have been working tirelessly, and this is why the situation hasn’t gone out of hand, despite one death, damage to property and crop raiding. The villagers have stayed calm and supportive. The story of the elephants visiting Gadchiroli and Gondia district is another classic example that peaceful coexistence is possible.”