Rajabhatkhawa (Jalpaiguri), Jan. 30: Microchips have been implanted in the skin of 11 elephants at the Buxa Tiger Reserve.

Project Elephant was launched to prevent the trafficking of animals. “We had implanted microchips in two elephants in Assam as part of the pilot project and yesterday, we began the all-India exercise from here,” said K.K. Singh, Bengal’s chief wildlife warden.

The 11 kunkis (trained elephants) that were tagged belong to the forest department. The process will also be extended to privately-owned animals. Singh said trained elephants were often stolen and smuggled to Nepal and south India, where they were sold. He added that it is often difficult to tell the difference between real documents and the forged ones used by the traffickers.

“Chips will be planted in about 4,000 elephants across the country. We will soon have a complete data bank for Project Elephant,” Singh said. In the state, the forest department owns 68 elephants, circus companies have 32, the Alipore Zoo has four and four are with private owners.