Elephant pair from Chhattisgarh takes Rewa detour, rangers track trek

Bhopal: Two wild elephants, including a radio-collared, strayed unusually into the Rewa forest circle after travelling nearly 250-300 km from the Bandhavgarh National Park landscape, deviating from the typical elephant movement routes from Chhattisgarh into eastern Madhya Pradesh. Forest officials said the pair, currently moving within a 10 km radius in the Churhat range of Sidhi district, are being closely monitored as their rare passage through Satna, Sidhi and Mauganj divisions triggered panic among villagers, though no casualties or property loss were reported so far.Chief conservator of forests (Rewa circle) Rajesh Rai said the two elephants entered the circle around Feb 15 after crossing a dam near Bandhavgarh and moved through Satna and Sidhi divisions before heading towards Mauganj and Hanumana near the Uttar Pradesh border, raising fears they might stray into densely populated areas. "They eventually turned back and are now in the Churhat area of Sidhi. Both elephants are identified as part of the Bandhavgarh population and are under continuous monitoring by forest teams," he told TOI.Rai said eastern Madhya Pradesh currently has two established elephant groups that began entering the state from Chhattisgarh around 2015-16 — a larger herd that settled in Bandhavgarh forests and a smaller herd of around 10-12 elephants that usually stays in Sanjay-Dubri National Park. However, the current movement is considered unusual as elephants generally enter through Anuppur-Shahdol or Singrauli-Sidhi routes."This is the first time since elephants began arriving in the region that two individuals from Bandhavgarh travelled such a long distance through this route," Rai said, adding that forest teams are instructed not to chase the animals. "When people panic and try to drive elephants away, the animals often take wrong turns. Our teams are monitoring them and villagers are being advised to keep a safe distance. Compensation provisions exist for crop damage, but preventing panic is crucial to avoid casualties," he said.