Maharashtra: Elephants near Sindhudurg village thrill forest officials

A screengrab from a widely shared video of an elephant with her two calves (circled) in Sindhudurg district

The government's move to declare a few areas loaded with biodiversity as community reserves and give them protection seems to be paying rich dividends. While locals have spotted an elephant with her two calves in Tillari Conservation Reserve, a cattle carcass in a notified wildlife corridor in Kolhapur has confirmed the presence of big cats.

"The protection given to the forests is helping wild animals. Recently an elephant and her two calves were spotted in Tillari Conservation Reserve at Sindhudurg. The good news is that we have found another cattle kill in the recently notified Chandgad Conservation Reserve," said a forest official.

Conservation reserves are protected areas that act as buffer zones or connectors and migration corridors between national parks and wildlife sanctuaries and reserved forests.

Focus on flooded forests

With heavy rain battering several areas of the state, the forest department has stepped up efforts to rescue animals hit by floods in Konkan, Sangli and Kolhapur.
Chief Conservator of Forest V Clement Ben said, "We have formed several teams to rescue and rehabilitate animals that are stuck in floods. Our teams have rescued pet animals too. One team rescued an over 6-foot-long crocodile." The department has also started an initiative named ‘Operation Gray Langur' under which about 30 animals were saved from raging floods in Panhala taluka of Kolhapur Forest Division.

Also read: Two elephants killed after being hit by goods train in Odisha