Dealing with straying jumbos: training conducted for TTD staff

Tirupati: In the aftermath of the recent straying of a herd of wild elephants into the first ghat road and Tirumala footpath, the TTD organised a training programme for its forest department staff including officials and field staff in dealing with the wild elephants.

Eminent elephant psychologist Dr Rudra Aditya who conducted the training session in Sri Venkateswara Employees Training Academy (SVETA) here on Saturday through visuals on the incidents of elephants straying into human landscape and standard operating procedure (SOP) followed by the experts in the States where elephants are more, in tackling wild elephants straying into human habitations.

After the theoretical session till noon, the elephant psychologist conducted a demonstration on the field-level immediate measures to tackle the wild elephants and also driving them back into the forests, in the garden area in front of SVETA.

Dwelling at length on the SOP, he said the public or the staff should not resort to shouting or hurling stones to scare the elephant straying into human habitation as it would boomerang. The best method to drive the elephant back into the forest was, he said, is setting fire to bags of dry chillies and gunny bags (jute) tied to a bamboo pole in an orderly manner to ensure that smoke emanates and scares away the elephant. He conducted a demonstration on the technique.

The bamboo sticks with chilli bags should be pitched with a minimum distance of 10 metres, he said, adding that the chilli smoke helps force the elephants retreat back into the forest.

People in the villages on the forest fringes can also adopt another method of setting fire to the dry cow dung and chillies packed in a tin box tied to trees, he said informing that the elephants are averse to the smell of burning dry cow dung and chillies and cautioned the staff or those engaged in forest maintenance or visiting forests against wearing white or red dress. Elephants get provoked on seeing red redress.

He further said it desirable to wear green dress and wanted the public or staff to eschew from climbing trees to escape from a chasing wild elephant and they better run away in a zig-zag manner. Instead of shouting or raising an alarm in fear when elephants come face to face, one should maintain calm and opt for some clever ways to escape from elephants.

The elephant psychologist also made a brief account on the elephant psychology, mood and behavior depending on the climate and also climate changes and how to deal in such a situation.

It may be recalled that a group of four elephants recently reached Tirumala forest where they strayed into ghat road and also on the footpath leading to Tirumala but later went away much to the relief of TTD and forest officials.

TTD in-charge Divisional Forest Officer and SVETA Director Prasanthi, forest range officers Prabhakar Reddy, Venkata Subbaiah, Raghurami Reddy, Vivekananda and others were present.