Foresters keep watch on the herd in Kalabari. File picture

Siliguri, June 24: Foresters here have sought the help of “hula parties” — expert animal chasers from Bankura in south Bengal — to steer away a herd of wild elephants that has been roaming the Kalabari forest area near the Indo-Nepal border for the past one week.

Two elephants of the herd had died — one by electrocution and the other from bullet wounds — trying to enter villages in eastern Nepal. Since then, the foresters have been trying to drive the animals away from Nepal and towards Lohagarh-Bamanpokhri leading to the Mahananda Wildlife Sanctuary.

“We used trained elephants from Gorumara National Park and managed to steer the herd to Lohagarh, but soon they returned to Kalabari,” said Sumita Ghatak, the divisional forest officer (wildlife-1). The herd currently has 80-odd elephants.

“After several failed attempts, we decided to take the help of a ‘hula party’, expert chasers who use torches and sounds to ward off elephants,” Ghatak said. “A 15-member team from Bishnupur in Bankura arrived here today and is expected to join our men at night.”

A senior forester said all the members of a “hula party” carry long iron rods. “Before starting the chase, they soak pieces of jute or gunny bags in a solution of burnt mobile and diesel. The bags are then tied to the tip of the rod.”

Depending on the location of the pachyderms and the direction in which they are to be driven, the chasers stand in different formations — oval, half-circle or triangle — around the herd.

“They ignite the torches all at once and start approaching the elephants. Maintaining a safe distance, all of them start a chant. The animals, frightened by the fire and the sound, flee in the only direction that is kept open and the ‘hula party’ starts chasing them,” said the official.

The risk of retaliation is always there, said the official. “However, these people never stop in the middle of a chase and carry fuel with them to feed the torches. They are paid according to the assignment. About two years ago, they used to get Rs 75 per head, plus contingency for food and fuel.”

This is the first time a “hula party” is being used in north Bengal and the chasers have a tough task ahead. “The terrain and forests here are different from south Bengal where they work. Also they don’t know how the elephants here will react,” the forester said.