Tragic episodes of elephant capture

Capturing wild elephants, earlier called khedda, was very popular in the erstwhile princely state of Mysore.

This event was held to coincide with the visits of members of the British royal families and British Indian officials including Governors and Governor Generals to Mysore state. The khedda operations were conducted by the Forest department which had a separate establishment called the khedda department with a khedda superintendent in charge.

It was undertaken as a measure to prevent elephants from foraying into agricultural lands. The elephants were also captured and trained to carry logs and pull heavy loads and to perform ceremonial duties. Some of them were sold and some gifted to temples, mutts and private parties.

Among the various methods of capturing wild elephants, the pit-fall method was followed in Mysore. Under this method, huge pits would be dug and the surface covered with twigs and leaves to make it appear as solid ground. By beating of drums, elephants were driven and led towards the pit. The fallen elephant would be later lifted and trained. As the success rate in this method was low and the elephant casuality high, during 1889-90, the government of Mysore decided to utilise the services of Sanderson to capture elephants by Stockade method.

Sanderson was earlier involved in the capture of a herd of troublesome elephants in the Chamarajanagar forest in 1874. He was the Superintendent of Dacca kheddas, and his services were lent to Mysore by the Government of India for five-and-a-half years. To facilitate operations, 12 trained elephants were purchased from Dacca  (Dhaka) and subsequently in 1890, when measures were planned for capture in the Kakanakote forest, 17 more elephants were imported from Burma. These 29 elephants cost Rs 1,02,687. A novel feature of this khedda was the use of the telephone. A line mostly through jungle was erected for 36 miles from Kakanakote to Hunsur.

In the Stockade method, hordes of elephants were scared away by drum beaters to move towards a place where an outer and inner enclosure would have been erected especially for herding them. Later, mahouts accompanied with rope- tiers would arrive with trained elephants and enter the outer enclosure. In batches, the wild elephants would be let from the inner enclosure to the outer enclosure.

The mahouts would then bring their elephants and array them among the wild elephants in such a manner that along each side of the wild one would be a tamed one and also in front of it to prevent the wild one from moving. The rope-tiers would then stealthily tie the hind legs of the wild elephant together and then tie them to a tree. To free itself, the elephant would exhaust all its strength, and weakened, was psychologically ready to be tamed.

Two drives in 1889-90 and three drives in 1890-91 were conducted and 159 elephants were caught. Out of 101 elephants retained, 93 were sold. The Duke of Clarence and Avendale paid a visit to the Chamarajanagar khedda in November 1889 when a special drive was made in his presence and 37 elephants were captured.

When the Prince of Wales visited the State in January 1906, a khedda operation was organised to capture 87 elephants. On the occasion of the visit of the Viceroy of British India, khedda operations were organised in which 92 elephants were captured.

Post-Independence, khedda was organised in December 1948 at Kakanakote forest in honour of the visit of Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru. About 35 elephants were captured. The Oriental International Film, California, was permitted to film the operation. It was the elephant named Indira captured in Mysore that was presented by Nehru to the children of Japan. Similarly two baby elephants were gifted to the New York zoo. The tragic capture of elephants under the khedda system was brought to an end in 1971.