Manas (Bodoland, Assam): Five ‘rescued’ elephant calves were relocated from the Centre for Wildlife Rehabilitation and Conservation (CWRC) for reintegration with wild herds in Manas National Park in the northeast Indian state of Assam, today.

The ‘move’ is a crucial step in the rehabilitation of these calves in the wild, being implemented by the Assam Forest Department and International Fund for Animal Welfare – Wildlife Trust of India (IFAW-WTI) with the support of the Bodoland Territorial Council (BTC).

“Assam Forest Department is making all efforts to contain human-elephant conflicts in the state and help conserve this national heritage animal. Rescue and rehabilitation of these wild elephant calves jointly by the Forest Department and IFAW-WTI is a significant step in this direction,” said Suresh Chand, Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (Wildlife) and Chief Wildlife Warden, Government of Assam.

“We are glad that IFAW-WTI have brought the orphaned elephants to Manas. We would like to present Manas to the world community and we are sure that wildlife enthusiasts will love to hear the news of this elephant move to Manas,” said Kampa Borgoyari, Deputy Chief, BTC. “We understand that some people have apprehensions of this move and we acknowledge their fear of increase in human-elephant conflict, but we are implementing measures to mitigate the same.”

The calves, one female and four males between the age of three and five years, were ‘rescued’ under various circumstances from different parts of Assam.

All of these calves were separated from their natal herds – two were victims of conflicts with people, one displaced during floods while the remaining two were found in tea gardens. They were admitted to CWRC, situated near Kaziranga NP, for rehabilitation as they could not be reunited with their herds.

The elephant calves were flagged off from CWRC for Manas yesterday. They reached the release site late this morning for the initiation of their in situ acclimatisation after a 12-hour journey, monitored by CWRC veterinarians and animal keepers.

At Manas, the calves will undergo a prolonged habituation process under close supervision of the Forest Department officials. Their behavior as individuals and their interactions with each other as well as other wild elephants will be observed and recorded during this period, as they grow independent of their keeper. Once the calves completely detach from their keeper and return to the wild, they will be monitored through radio-collars.

“We’re very pleased to see these elephants walking the forests of Manas National Park. This is a vital step towards their reintegration to the wild but there are still many hurdles to overcome. Our ‘soft release’ programme will allow elephants to gradually become fully independent at their own pace,” said Ian Robinson, IFAW Emergency Relief Director.

Eight elephant calves, hand-raised at CWRC have earlier been relocated and released in Manas similarly, as part of this Elephant Reintegration Project. Four of them have established themselves in the wild. The project is one of the various conservation initiatives being implemented by the Assam Forest Department, BTC and IFAW-WTI as part of their efforts to ‘bring Manas back to its former glory’ with the support and encouragement of the Honorable Forest Minister, Government of Assam, Rockybul Hussain.

“Manas has always been an area of high conservation priority, as indicated by the epithets it holds – a national park, a tiger reserve and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Surviving a rough phase during the civil unrest when among other losses, its entire population of rhinos was wiped out, and in the face of threats of losing its world heritage status, Manas is now regaining its fame with pro-active initiatives by the government and the people,” said Vivek Menon, Executive Director, WTI.

In 2006, rhinos were brought back to Manas for the first time since the local population was extirpated. In addition to rhino reintroduction and rehabilitation of other key flagships like the tiger and the elephants, IFAW-WTI has also been assisting the Forest Department and BTC authorities in various community-based conservation activities, capacity-building of frontline staff, support to grassroots NGOs, etc.