Trained elephants shifted to mitigate human-elephant conflict

The trained kumki elephants will be used to safely guide wild elephant herds back into forest areas, reducing the risk of conflict in villages

Metro India News | AMARAVATI

Two trained kumki elephants, Jayanth and Abhimanyu, have been shifted from the Musalamadugu Elephant Camp in Palamaner to the Guchchimi Elephant Camp in Parvathipuram Manyam district as part of the Andhra Pradesh government’s efforts to reduce human-elephant conflict.

Deputy Chief Minister and Forest Minister Pawan Kalyan welcomed the elephants at his camp office in Mangalagiri during their transit. He greeted the animals by showering flowers, personally fed them and flagged off the second leg of their journey to Guchchimi.

The Deputy Chief Minister directed Forest Department officials to ensure the elephants’ safety throughout the journey and instructed them to help the animals gradually adapt to the new environment under expert supervision after reaching the camp.

Pawan Kalyan said the deployment of Jayanth and Abhimanyu would strengthen efforts to manage increasing incidents of human-elephant conflict in Parvathipuram Manyam district, where herds of wild elephants frequently cross over from neighbouring Odisha, damaging crops and property.

He said the coalition government was adopting scientific and humane measures to protect both people and wildlife while safeguarding farmers’ livelihoods. The trained kumki elephants will be used to safely guide wild elephant herds back into forest areas, reducing the risk of conflict in villages.

The two elephants have previously played a key role in several operations in the Palamaner and Chittoor regions, where they successfully assisted forest officials in driving wild elephant herds away from human habitations and into forests. Officials believe their deployment in Parvathipuram Manyam will significantly improve the district’s wildlife management and conflict mitigation efforts.