BHOPAL: For months, the forest department’s problem was a wild elephant that would not stay where he was put. It took nearly 100 forest personnel, four trained elephants, three wildlife veterinarians and almost 30 hours to bring him back.




Coded Radio Collar-4 , the 20-year-old tusker had been drifting between Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve and the Shahdol and Maihar forest divisions. What set him apart was his habit of taking to the water. Again and again he swam across the Son river at Bansagar reservoir , covering stretches of nearly nine kilometres in eight to 10 hours and leaving the people tracking him a step behind.




The elephant who wouldn’t stay putThe elephant originally came from Chhattisgarh. He was first rescued on May 22 this year, after a series of human deaths, livestock losses and crop damage in the Keshwahi forest range of South Shahdol division. Officials fitted him with a radio collar and released him the next day in the Bagdara beat of Khitoli range in Bandhavgarh.




He first roamed alone for nearly a month, then joined a herd of 12 elephants on June 26. Through the following weeks he moved across Khitoli, Dhamokhar, Kalwah, Magadhi, Umaria and Shahdol.



On September 7, he crossed the Son from the Panpatha buffer area and reached Amarpatan range in Maihar division. The swim took eight to 10 hours, and he rested on an island midway before reaching the far bank.




Trail of deaths, damaged crops and lost livestockAfter about 20 days in Maihar, he crossed again on the night of September 28-29, covering roughly nine kilometres in eight to nine hours. He entered the Panpatha buffer through North Shahdol and returned to Bandhavgarh. A month later, around a fortnight before the rescue, he swam Bansagar once more and went back to Amarpatan, drifting from beat to beat.




His route ran through villages, grazing land and standing crops. Given his history of human casualties, livestock losses and crop damage, officials decided the risk was too great and chose a coordinated rescue to protect both the animal and the people living near him.




100 personnel, 4 elephants, 30 hoursThe teams came from Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve, Sanjay Tiger Reserve, Maihar forest division and Mukundpur Zoo. Bandhavgarh sent about 20 officers and staff, Sanjay 10, Maihar around 60 and Mukundpur Zoo 15.




Four trained elephants joined them: Gautam, Surya and Shyam from Bandhavgarh, and Bapu from Sanjay Tiger Reserve. Three wildlife veterinarians oversaw the medical side: Dr Rajesh Tomar of Bandhavgarh, Dr Nitin Gupta of Mukundpur Zoo and Dr Abhay Sengar of Sanjay Tiger Reserve.




The operation ran under principal chief conservator of forests and chief wildlife warden Dr Samita Rajora , with guidance from Bandhavgarh field director Dr Anupam Sahay, Rewa Circle conservator of forests Anurag Kumar and Maihar divisional forest officer Vidya Bhushan.




Darted at night, driven through the darkThe moment came late on November 11, when the team immobilised Radio Collar-4 with a tranquiliser dart. Once he was sedated, the veterinarians removed his radio collar.




He was then secured in a specially designed rescue vehicle and driven through the night, past Gorsari, Amarpatan, Maihar, Katni, the Umaria bypass, Parasi, Magadhi and Mili grassland, before reaching a temporary secure monitoring area in Kalwah range of Bandhavgarh. The effort began at 10am on November 11 and ended on the afternoon of November 12, with personnel working through the night.




Officials said the elephant was calm and stable after his release into the enclosure. Wildlife veterinarians and the Kalwah range team will keep a close watch on his health and movements.




Rajora congratulated all the teams on completing the operation. The department said the exercise was meant to prevent further human-elephant conflict while keeping the animal safe, and showed the coordination needed across forest divisions and wildlife institutions to handle a large, free-ranging elephant.