Wild Elephants inside a tea garden.

That day around 8:30 am, we got information about elephant taking shatter in the Moninajuli tea garden. There were three male elephants in the tea garden. When wild elephants come out of the forest in search of food, they often spend the day resting inside the many tea gardens of the area. 

It is possible to see elephants almost every day of the year in the area. The tea gardens are home to elephants throughout the year; sometimes, large herds of elephants stay there for several weeks at a time. 

A crowd gathered near the elephants. 

As the massage progressed in the area, some young people began approaching the resting place around 2:30 pm. That day two of our volunteers from the elephant monitoring group were also present at the location. 

Our region is renowned for its elephants, which attract a crowd from nearby villages and tea gardens. That day was also not different. 

Mock charges and aggressive behaviors of wild elephants

Papu lives near the location, and when he reached the site, he saw people watching the animals from a distance, but some kids were very near them. As long as people are present, elephants remain vigilant. The audience was harassing the elephants with rocks, crackers, and whatever else they could find. In our video footage and still photos, you will see people throwing stones and using catapults at them. The crowd has forced the elephants to behave defensively; they were trying to scare the people by displaying aggressive postures and launching mock charges. 

From afar, it was entertaining to view the mock charging and aggressive behavior of the elephants. Papu said, ‘It was not their choice that the elephants were exhibiting aggressive behaviors; they were doing this out of fear of the crowd.’ 

Beating wild elephants with sticks in front of forest officials- 

When forest guards arrived at 3:30 pm to chase away the elephant, they found a group of youth harassing the animals. As soon as the group saw the forest guard, they were sure that the elephants would now move, so they started beating the elephants from behind with sticks. Mr. Birsa Kheria struck the elephant twice before the elephant turned around and attacked.

The elephant threw the person into the air with his trunk!

As a result of constant harassment, one elephant snapped, and those harassing him had no power to stop him. 

When I asked Mr. Birsa about the incident, he explained that one of the elephants suddenly attacked him while chasing them. Upon asking him why the elephant attacked, he replied someone was hitting it with a stick! According to him, Mr. Birsa and the man beating the elephants were both wearing red shirts. Other people fled when the elephants turned around, but there was no escape for Mr. Birsa. 

He fell into a tea garden ditch when the elephant threw him into the air with its trunk. The elephant then walked up to him and attempted to stamp on him. He was injured in the attack and sustained a broken left hand and a broken right leg.

Birsa was drunk!

Eyewitnesses, however, said Mr. Birsa Kheria lied. The locals told us that Mr. Birsa Kheria was drunk that day, beating the elephant, and he was far ahead of the armed guards. 

Responsibility of forest department.

Forest officer Mr. Rava and his colleagues witnessed the incident. Birsa Kheria was severely injured. Rava said, ‘Forest department can not take responsibility for every incident .’

People mistreat elephants in tea gardens as well as mistreat department officials that chase elephants, says Rava. 

Mr. Rava told me that wild elephants generally kill people like Birsa Kheria, who go after resting elephants after a few shots. In Rava’s opinion, drunk people have a higher chance of being killed by wild elephants.

The elephant squad 

They are also known as the ‘elephant squad’ since they are responsible for driving wild elephants back into the forest when they emerge from the forest. Rava and his elephant squad’s jurisdiction is over a 205 square kilometer area. The ‘elephant squad’ is ill-equipped to chase wild elephants from such a vast area. 

Need of a law

When I asked Rava about the youth and the kids, he replied, ‘ They use to irritate the elephants all day; nowadays, they are using a particular bugle to frighten the elephants.’ Foresters like Rava argue for a special law to protect elephants outside the forest and keep people in check around them. Rava is also concerned for the safety of his men because people sometimes attack forest vehicles and officials when elephants are around. 

When the elephant squad chases wild elephants, they use firecrackers and gunshots. So I remained Rava about the possibility of someone using the proposed law against them. 

Rava said, ‘Maybe, but it is essential to control the crowds near elephants.’

Legal action against harassment of wild elephants

There are only a few incidents where the forest department takes legal action against such harassment. In Tamil Nadu’s Tirupur district, the forest department arrested three tribal youths on 7th May 2021. Using their mobile phone, they filmed a video of themselves harassing wild elephants. The video went viral. The Forest department arrested them for teasing wild elephants under the Wild Life Protection Act. 

There have been numerous incidents in which elephants have attacked and injured or killed people who irritate them. It has also happened to elephants in some cases.

Tea garden as a refuge for wild elephants –

It is possible to see elephants almost every day of the year in the area. The tea gardens act as a refuge for wild elephants throughout the year; sometimes, large herds of elephants stay there for several weeks at a time. 

When they are in the tea gardens, they do not always have access to food and water. The elephants roam around the villages at night, raiding the playfields. 

In most cases, the villagers and the forest department chase them back into tea gardens. Elephants have to spend weeks in such areas where they have to face constant harassment from the people. 

Can tea gardens help the wild elephants? 

A few tea gardens in Assam make their tea gardens safe for elephants. They are trying to link tea farming to conservation. Unfortunately, most of the top tea companies aren’t paying enough attention to this problem. 

The tea gardens serve as refuges and movement linkages for elephants.

(https://www.iucn.org/news/species/201707/habitat-connectivi-tea)

Management of the tea gardens can be crucial to deterring people from harassing the elephants when they take refuge in their garden. 

Tea gardens can educate their workers, especially the kids and youth, to prevent harassment of elephants when elephants are taking shelter there.

How you can support – 

You can help us to initiate such a campaign with your valuable suggestions.