Lonely & dangerous: ‘Herd reject’ jumbo of Chalsa Forest turns threat to humans, cattle

BANARHAT: A ‘herd reject’ tusker has emerged as the rogue of Chalsa Forest. It takes no time in giving trouble to the humans and the cattle crossing its path.

For the past few days, the dreaded tusker has been spotted roaming on the banks of Murti river, adjacent to the National Highway.

Last Tuesday, an old woman who was cutting grass in the area was attacked by the tusker. 70-year-old Dhanmaya Sarki had a near escape. However, the cow was not that lucky.

It was killed by the tusker. The local residents are now afraid to go near Murti Railway Bridge, the river side as well as venture into the forest.

As per social behaviour of the herd, usually the younger Makna (tuskless male elephants) who are usually in a herd take interest towards the female elephants of the group, the tusked leaders of the herd drive them away.

Every time, these Makna elephants put up a stiff resistance against the tusked leaders of the herd. This fight between tusked elephant and Makna elephant lasts for a few hours and sometimes even upto a few days.Due to the lack of tusks, the Makna generally

gets defeated by the tusked elephant. Such defeated Makna elephants don’t have any options but to leave the herd. Such kind of Makna elephants are colloquially known as ‘Eakoa’ or ‘Lone elephant’. Defeated and ostracized from the herd, they tend to be quite aggressive.

A number of Makanas who were expelled from various herds, sometimes form their own self-created herd in the Jungle.

This kind of herd of young Makhna elephants is called ‘Maljuria’. They usually venture into localities in search of food and cause extensive damage, destroying crops. Usually, if a tusker does not need to leave the group after losing a fight with the leader of the group, they return to the herd attracted by females.

In this case, the rogue elephant is a full grown tusker. It is not yet known why this particular aggressive tusker is roaming alone in the Chalsa Forest since it is considered unusual for a tusker to roam in the area for several days as a loner. According to sources, the ‘Khunia Squad’ of Forest department is regularly monitoring the elephant. If the elephant is sick or its behavior seems abnormal, then necessary action will be taken by them, stated a forest source.