Stray elephant turns Goa village into unexpected home, sparks concern

Pernem: A quiet village here in Goa has found itself sharing space for the last four days with an unexpected guest, a 10-year-old elephant named Omkar, stirring both awe and anxiety, as the jumbo has been attacking crops.

Separated from its herd of five, Omkar crossed into Goa from the Maharashtra border and has since been foraging in the lush paddy fields of Tamboxem in Pernem taluka.

For now, the village waits anxiously, caught between compassion for the lost tusker and fear for their fragile livelihoods, as Goa scrambles to find a way to reunite Omkar with its family in the forests.

The sight of the young tusker grazing among ripened crops has been a cause of worry among the villagers, who fear that Omkar may soon wander into their homes.

The elephant strayed after losing contact with its family, Goa's Conservator of Forests (Wildlife) Navin Kumar told PTI on Saturday.

"Help from Karnataka forest officials will be sought to reunite the elephant with its family," he said, after inspecting the spots where Omkar has been moving since it arrived in the village.

Another forest department official said the rest of the herd, which includes elephants Ganesh and Bahubali, along with three calves, is believed to be roaming in the forests of Dodamarg in Maharashtra, 20 km from Tamboxem.

For now, Omkar has made Tamboxem its temporary home. The forest department has set up a camp on the edge of the village to monitor the jumbo and prevent any intrusion into residential areas.

"The elephant is in the village itself and the paddy fields are not far away from homes. What separates the village and paddy fields is a small rivulet, which has become a lakshman-rekha for Omkar," local panchayat member Dayanand Gawandi said.

But the invisible line of safety feels fragile. Villagers live in constant fear that Omkar may cross over.

"I advise all the villagers to remain in their homes, especially during the night. Omkar has a habit of being next to human habitation and it may try to enter the village, creating panic," Kumar told residents during his interaction with them on Saturday evening.

The elephant has travelled even to Kolhapur in Maharashtra through the contiguous forest corridor, he said.

The more immediate worry, however, is the damage to standing crops. "The biggest worry is the loss to the paddy cultivation and other crops. Omkar started attacking the paddy cultivation. The villagers are not even allowed to enter the fields as one never knows where Omkar is sitting," local farmer and former deputy sarpanch Madhusudhan Samant said.

For villagers dependent solely on agriculture, the elephant's presence has disrupted daily life. Even cattle-rearing has become difficult.

"We have been strictly instructed by the forest department not to leave our cattle in the field. We can't leave them there, and we are also stopped from going to collect pasture. How will the cattle survive?" a middle-aged local woman asked officials.

Though the forest department has assured that farmers will soon be allowed back into the fields under supervision, villagers are losing patience.

"Drive Omkar away into Dodamarg, where its family is currently foraging. The forest department should not waste time on monitoring its movements," farmer Hari Patil said during the discussion with Kumar at a village temple.

Kumar told villagers that the task of driving Omkar back was beyond the local expertise of the forest department.

"We don't have expertise. We will have to get a mahout from Karnataka along with his elephant, which will drive Omkar back in the forest," he said, adding that talks were underway with Shimoga authorities to send trained hands.

Goa Forest Minister Vishwajit Rane, after meeting his Karnataka counterpart Eshwar Khandre in Bengaluru, confirmed the neighbouring state's assistance was being sought to "rehabilitate Omkar, who has been damaging the crop".

Straying elephants are not new to Goa.

A senior forest official recalled how jumbos often wander in from the Tillari region of Maharashtra.

"The change in crop pattern in Tillari, coupled with the development of eco-resorts and farmhouses, has disturbed the habitat of these elephants, pushing them to venture for greener pastures," the official noted.