Forest department official naming a baby elephant as Tunga in the camp at Sakrebailu near Shivamogga on Tuesday.
DH Photo
Shivamogga/DHNS: Being World Elephant Day on Tuesday, there was a festive mood at the Sakrebailu elephant camp near Shivamogga. The mild rumbles and trumpets by baby elephants filled the camp, much to the amusement of school children present there. The baby elephants were decked up with paints along with their mothers, for the occasion.
To mark the day, the authorities at the Sakrebailu camp christened two baby female elephants born to Netravti and Bhanumathi elephants as Chamundi and Tunga in a traditional ceremony. Forest officials whispered the names of elephants in the ears of baby elephants and they were fed with their favourite fruit, banana.
Speaking on the occasion, Chief Conservator of Forests (CCF) K T Hanumanthappa said that World Elephant Day is a day to spread awareness on elephant conservation, on human-elephant conflict management and also co-existence.
Located on the banks of Tunga river, the Sakrebailu elephants camp is a popular tourist destinations in the state. It’s an ideal place for nature lovers and wildlife enthusiasts to learn about elephants and their conservation, he said.
There are 26 elephants in the camp, of which 23 are fully tamed and 3 elephants are being captured and tamed in the kraals.
There are 16 male elephants, 5 females and 1 baby elephant among the tamed elephants. The tamed elephants participate in elephant capture operations, taming of elephants and also in the Dasara festival.
CCF K T Hanumanthappa also noted that there are also plans to set up an information kiosk about the importance of elephants, their role in operations with their history. Besides, the kiosk will also educate people on man-animal conflict and about wildlife conservation.
Naming ceremony
Two elephants named Ravi and Shiva from the camp have been sent to Madhya Pradesh from the elephant camp and two elephants named Krishna and Abhimanyu to Andhra Pradesh.
He further said that an information board on human-elephant conflict, emotional relationships of elephants, their achievements, research on elephants, adoption and other projects will be formulated soon.
Deputy Conservator of Forests (DCF) Prasanna Krishna Patagar said that the theme of World Elephant Day this year is ‘Matriarchs and Memories’, which emphasises the deep and lasting memories that female elephants share with their herds.
A special webinar programme with elephant experts had been organised for the children, departmental officers and staff of Morarji Desai Residential School in Gajanur. A special postal envelope was released to mark the occasion by Superintendent of Postal Department Jayaram Shetty.
Various competitions like painting, essay and poster creation were organised in schools at Puradal, Heddaripura and Bellur.
Students of Sakrebailu Government School took out a procession by wearing elephant mask.
Assistant Conservator of Forests Vijayakumar, Range Forest Officer Vinay J R, other officers were present.