In a heart-warming yet unusual tale of love, a trained kumki elephant named Gajraj from the Dudhwa Tiger Reserve broke free from its iron shackles and disappeared into the forests accompanied by six female elephants. The elephantine elopement sparked a massive 15-day search operation involving drones and forest teams.
It all began on August 14, when the elephants were released near the Rhino Rehabilitation Area in the South Sonaripur Range, a lush 27 sq km area with tall Sal and Damar trees, as many as nine permanent lakes and vast grasslands that stretch for miles on all sides, mimicking the Kaziranga national park in Assam.
Gajraj Had Been Brought To Dudhwa To Patrol The Range
It is in this area that it is possible to spot the one-horned rhino and according to the last census there are about 46 rhinos in Dudhwa. Gajraj had been brought to Dudhwa to patrol the range and to monitor the rhinos from Jaldapara Wildlife Sanctuary in West Bengal in 2008; he was thought to be a toddler then in elephant terms, less than ten years of age.
In the same enclosure were other elephants, female, Kamalkali, Suheli, Kiran, Kaveri, Sulochana, and Chameli. The last two were childhood friends, so to speak, of Gajraj, having come from Jaldapara, along with Gajraj.
Dudhwa Tiger Reserve Swung Into Action
The very next day, Gajraj, intoxicated by the spirit of love, broke his chains and fled into the dense forest, with these six female elephants hot on his heels. Once the news of Gajraj and his companions' disappearance into the forest reached the authorities, the Dudhwa Tiger Reserve swung into action.
Many teams of forest workers and mahouts were deployed and they fanned out looking for the errant elephants, and drone cameras were flown over the forest cover.
World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) Team Descends On Dudhwa
A team from the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) descended on Dudhwa to assist in the search and corral activity. Incidentally, the Dudhwa Tiger reserve sprawls over 2201 sq km and elephants can range many miles while foraging for food.
"As Dudhwa shares a border with Nepal we were bit scared that if these elephants cross the border it would be difficult to bring them back,” said a forest ranger. “Luckily, they were found roaming in Indian territory,” he told FPJ. They had been located after a 15-day search. Once they were spotted they were brought back to the reserve.
Dudhwa’s Field Director Lalit Kumar explained, “This is the mating season for elephants, during which male elephants often become excited and unpredictable. Gajraj was no exception and led the female elephants into the forest. Fortunately, all of them have been rescued and are now back at the camp.”
