Friend zone: Arambagh’s rogue elephant finds new herd in the forests of Buxa

alipurduar: The rogue elephant that was relocated from Arambagh to the jungles of Buxa has found a new herd at Buxa Tiger Reserve.

On Monday, the Forest department observed that the elephant was roaming with a large group of elephants in the jungle of Buxa.

The 13-year-old wild tusker was playing with other elephants of that herd. The radio collar was still tied around its neck. This was a big relief for the department.

Parveen Kaswan, the Deputy Field Director of Buxa Tiger Reserve, said: “We are happy to see that the elephant has quickly attached itself to a herd and adjusted to the environment. It’s a natural process for elephants to be accepted by a herd. We are still observing its movements.”

Earlier, the 13-year-old wild tusker was relocated to Buxa Tiger Reserve Forest on February 13 as punishment for terrorising people in Arambagh and Goghat in the Hooghly district.

Before its relocation, a radio collar was placed around its neck and it was released into the forest of Buxa.

The radio collar was fitted with the Global System for Mobile (GSM) system, through which the Forest department monitored its movement.

On October 15, 2022, a similar 15-year-old wild tusker from Jhargram was sedated and released in the Buxa forest with a radio collar on its neck.

However, this elephant has travelled hundreds of kilometers across Assam and is currently in Meghalaya.