The elephant at the Iskcon temple in Nadia’s Mayapur that killed a mahout on Saturday evening is likely to be shifted to a rehabilitation centre, an Iskcon official said Monday.
Bishnupriya, the 16-year-old female that had pushed and pressed 27-year-old Samudra Rava against a wall, leading to his death, was calm and found bonding with the other female elephant in the enclosure on Monday, forest department officials said.
The officials said they visited the enclosure on Monday morning and found Bishnupriya and Lakshmipriya, 30, the other elephant, bonding with their trunks.
“This is a common way for elephants to bond with each other,” said the official. Bishnupriya looked calm and a third mahout, who returned from a holiday from Assam on Sunday, has been able to chain her, the official said.
Forest officials and elephant experts said that before separating the two elephants, they need to evaluate whether that can cause emotional turmoil for them.
This newspaper reported on Monday how Bishnupriya pushed Samudra and pressed him against the wall on Saturday evening at Iskcon, Mayapur, around 140km from Calcutta.
Samudra was taken to a local hospital where doctors declared him dead.
Ajay Rabha, the mahout of Bishnupriya, jumped off the elephant’s back to save Samudra but fractured his leg.
“We are planning to send Bishnupriya to a rehabilitation centre. But first we have to be sure that she is completely calm. Then we will decide on the course of action,” said Radharaman Das, vice-president, Iskcon, Calcutta. “Veterinary experts are evaluating her.”
“The two elephants have been staying together in the enclosure for years. On Sunday, too, Bishnupriya, although restless, was found communicating with Lakshmipriya,” said a forest official.
If the two elephants share a strong bond, they will find any separation stressful, said a wildlife biologist.
“If the two have developed a strong bond, separation will definitely impact both. They will go through a lot of stress. Female elephants are known for social bonding. Male elephants stay alone. Females stay in a herd,” said Aritra Kshettry, national lead for elephant conservation, WWF-India.
Debal Ray, the chief wildlife warden of Bengal, said a forest official saw Bishnupriya early on Monday.
“It is much calmer now. The mahout from Assam has been able to put the elephant in chains as well. There is no need for tranquilisation,” he said.
Ray said he was yet to get a formal proposal for rehabilitating the jumbo.
“We will look into the proposal as and when we get it,” he said.
