Odisha government seeks urgent deployment of kumki elephants from Tamil Nadu

Kumki elephants can be deployed strategically to help manage and drive wild elephants thereby reducing damage to crops, human habitations and the potential loss of both human and elephant lives, says Odisha govt.

The makhna elephant tied up with ropes being escorted onto a truck with the help of a kumki at a village near Pollachi in Coimbatore district of Tamil Nadu. File | Photo Credit: The Hindu

The Odisha government has sought assistance of Tamil Nadu for making kumki elephants and mahouts available in the wake of worsening human-elephant conflict in the eastern State.

Odisha’s Additional Chief Secretary (Forest and Environment) Satyabrata Sahu wrote a letter to his Tamil Nadu counterpart Supriya Sahu, Additional Chief Secretary (Environment, Climate Change and Forest) stating: “In recent years, we have been facing significant challenges in mitigating human-elephant conflicts. your help in getting trained kumki elephants would greatly assist us in addressing these conflicts effectively and humanely.”

In Odisha, there have been 230 encounters between humans and elephants in this financial year (2023-24). In these encounters, 139 humans have been killed and 108 injured. Last financial year, there were 257 encounters in which 146 persons were killed and 157 injured. As there are two more months left in the current financial year, the human casualties in elephant attacks could be an all-time high.

“Kumki elephants can be deployed strategically to help us to manage and drive wild elephants thereby reducing damage to crops, human habitations and the potential loss of both human and elephant lives. These elephants can also be deployed for forest patrolling and rescue operations,” said the Odisha government officer.

Learning from T.N. model

Stating that Tamil Nadu has a successful and commendable programme in place, whereby kumki elephants are trained and utilised for wildlife conservation purposes, he requested the Tamil Nadu government to provide at least four kumki elephants for deployment in conflict-prone areas of Odisha.

“These elephants will serve as an invaluable asset to our State’s wildlife organization, aiding our efforts to minimize conflicts and safeguard both human and wildlife interests. It is also requested that the mahouts taking care of those kumki elephants may also be deputed along with the elephants, for only initial handholding support to our local mahouts to get them acquainted with those kumki elephants,” Mr. Sahu mentioned in the letter.

“In light of urgency and magnitude of the human-elephant conflict issue in Odisha, I would request your prompt consideration of this proposal. Your support will significantly contribute to our ongoing conservation efforts and prove instrumental in mitigating wildlife conflicts in Odisha,” he further said.