Radio collar for elephant: Hazaribag forest officials plan to track aggressive female elephant; Seven fatalities linked to her herd prompt urgent action

Hazaribag: Forest officials here on Wednesday said they are planning to put a radio collar on the 40-year-old female elephant who is leading the herd which killed seven people in Churchu block of Hazaribag a few days ago.The elephant, who has been the aggressor in most cases, led the herd from Chadri Pahar in Churchu into Purpania and Jhumra Hills in the adjoining Bokaro district on Wednesday. Several teams of forest officials and experts from Odisha have been tracking the herd using three drones. One of them is fitted with thermal cameras.Ravindra Nath Mishra, regional chief conservator of forests (RCCF), said, “It's not possible to tranquilize and transport the female elephant from such a thick forest area. So, we now have planned to fix radio collar on her so that we can track her movements,” he said.The matriarch’s behaviour, officials said, has come up as a surprise. “Such aggression is always seen in male elephants. There is a need to study reasons behind such behaviour,” Mishra added.