A team of Uttarakhand Forest Department recently travelled to Bangalore to hold a survey on the wildlife situation in Karnataka.

The officials also held talks with Karnataka forest officials for purchasing trained elephants in bulk, and visited Nagarkule National Park.

“We are planning to buy nearly 50 elephants for the purpose of patrolling and to boost eco-tourism. We have short-listed Karnataka, West Bengal and Tripura in this regard,” said D V S Khati, Chief Conservator (Finance and Planning).

Uttarakhand, which shares a 274-km-long porous border with Nepal, has witnessed a rise in poaching activities in the recent past.

The Wildlife Department seized a large number of wild animal parts like tusks and leopard skins and arrested one dozen poachers from different parts of the state last month. The state has six wildlife parks and an equal number of wildlife sanctuaries where poachers thrive.

Pointing out that states like Karnataka have more experience in wildlife management and eco-tourism, Mr Khati said a four-member committee headed by him has already been formed to hold similar talks with forest officials of West Bengal and Tripura. A financial provision of Rs 3.6 crore has been made by the state government for buying elephants.

Patrolling

“Our experience shows that patrolling with the help of elephants is easy in dense forest areas where poaching is high,” said G S Pandey, Director of Rajaji Park and a member of the committee.

Elephants would be used during the monsoon season when the forest roads are inaccessible, Mr Pandey said.

Elephants will also be used for safari purposes at Rajaji Park and Jim Corbett National Park to boost eco-tourism.