‘Bachelor’s Group’ of jumbos keeps mango growers on edge

Forest officials struggling to drive them back to Tamil Nadu

A three-member herd of wild elephants, known in local circles as the Bachelor’s Group, is giving sleepless nights to forest officials and farmers for the past one month ever since it strayed into the plains of Nagari Assembly constituency.

Forest officials have been trying unsuccessfully to drive the elephants back into their habitat near V. Kota-Pernampattu (T.N.) border, some 150 km away.

During the past one month, the herd had mostly confined itself to the hillocks of Karvetinagaram range between Puttur and Vadamalapeta. Though their present location is 30 km from the Seshachalam hills on the eastern side, all efforts to drive them in the direction of Tamil Nadu did not yield fruit. Farmers of Vadamalapeta, Puttur and Ramachandrapuram mandals have requested the forest officials to initiate steps to protect their crops from the jumbos.

Last week, the elephants were seen moving towards Karvetinagaram, showing signs of retreating along the path through which they had entered the Nagari plains. However, in an apparent change of plans, they once again advanced back to the same spot near the Gulluru water body near Vadamalapeta.

Forest Range Officer (Karveti Nagaram) Sivanna said that handling of a three-member herd is tricky. “Had it been a lone elephant, we could have taken some steps to drive it towards its original habitat near Tamil Nadu, or into the Seshachalam hills,” he said.

The FRO said that since the beginning of January, the jumbo trio had mostly limited their movements to the forested hills and open glades inside.

“They are very rarely approaching the fields at dawn or dusk, but there are no reports of major crop losses but for stray incidents. Though the presence of elephants is altogether a new development to the Nagari plains, the forest department is fully geared up to tackle them if they cross into human habitations. At present, the forest belt of Karveti Nagaram range is having sufficient fodder and water for the elephants,” Mr. Sivanna said.

The official said that this situation could continue for the next couple of months, but not beyond that. “The forest stretch where the elephants are currently camping is surrounded by mango gardens in a vast area, covering Karveti Nagaram, Puttur, Nagari, Vadamalapeta, Ramachandrapuram and Chandragiri mandals. During the mango season, the wild elephants are generally known for raiding the orchids. In view of this, we are hopeful of forming an action plan to address the jumbo problem,” he said.

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