Extreme heat, thirst lead to death of 2 wild jumbos

TANGLA: Natural water bodies are drying up with increasing temperature, making it hard for wildlife to sustain and leaving herds of elephant grappling in search of water.

A herd of wild elephants, that descended from the Indo-Bhutan border hills in search of water, has taken shelter in Rajagarh and Nalapara villages under Nonai Forest Division of the Udalguri district. Though there have been no reports of human-elephant conflict or damage to houses or crops by the herd of elephants, the incident of death of two jumbos within 48 hours, believed to be separated from herd and falling into wells, has raised concerns of wildlife conservationists and conscious circles.

In the first incident, a jumbo separated from a herd which is taking shelter in Budlapara TE, died after falling into a well in No. 2 Bholatar village near Dimakuchi in the Udalguri district on the night of June 6. The jumbo was aged about 4-5 years. In another incident, a jumbo, believed to be part of the same herd and aged about 4-5 months, fell into a well in Budlapara TE purportedly in search of water on the night of June 7

Talking to this correspondent, noted wildlife conservationist of Udalguri, Nabajyoti Baruah said, “Elephant herds use water sources and the water level has drastically decreased and the natural sources of water have dried due to scorching heat. Though the adult elephants manage to quench their thirst, the jumbos are prone to be attracted to the artificial waterholes like wells and ditches in search of water.”

He further said, “As artificial waterholes maintain water availability during the dry season it is time the Assam Forest Department adopted measures to build artificial water bodies with solar powered pumps which can provide relief to elephants in scorching heat.”

Sources in the forest department asserted that an NGO had proposed for setting up of such an artificial water dam with solarized motor in Bornadi Wildlife Sanctuary but the project did not see the day of light as the wildlife sanctuary falls under Manas Tiger Project, which is a protected zone where such activity requires nod from higher-ups of the forest department.

Pertinently, as per official statistics of the forest department under Nonai Forest Division of Udalguri, there have been death of three elephants against death of three humans with a total of 65 houses damaged and 25 hectares of crops destroyed from January to May in the year 2023.

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