The elephant calves at the Malangi beat office. Picture by Anirban Choudhury

Alipurduar, Feb. 19: Rescued from the brink of death, five baby elephants, cared and reared by guards, will soon have more space to play and get trained to carry tourists on back and patrol the forest.

A new pilkhana (training centre) is being developed in Jaldapara Wildlife Sanctuary for elephants calves with electric fences and trenches to thwart intrusion by any other animal.

The facility will come up near the Malangi beat office, where the five baby elephants, rescued by the forest department from different places in the sanctuary in the past three years, are being raised along with two kunkis and their calves.

Makeshift structures are in place currently at the beat office for the calves, but the foresters feel the animals need more space for the training. An area of 60sqm has been earmarked near the office for the pilkhana.

Om Prakash, the divisional forest officer of wildlife III, said: “There is a space crunch at the beat office. We feel that the animals should be provided with more space to play freely and get proper training. So, we decided to construct a new pilkhana just beside the beat office.”

A forest department source said fences would be erected around the centre to stop the intruding wild animals. A trench will also be dug to keep the calves safe.

The Malangi beat has a track record in rescuing and raising elephant calves. So much so that the forest minister had declared that any elephant brought back to life in north Bengal should be sent to Malangi for care.

Of the five calves, Balasundar was the first one to reach the Malangi beat office. The animal was just seven days old when it was rescued from the Balasan riverbank on July 18, 2007. The guards at Malangi spent nights, looking after the calf. One night, the calf had high fever and the staff members arranged for fire around the animal to protect it from severe cold.

On August 14, 2008, a one-year-old elephant was rescued from Rohini Tea Estate and the calf was named after the garden.

Two baby elephants were saved from the Teesta last year. A one-month-old one was spotted on July 5 and it was called Titi. The other animal, found on September 20, was christened Teesta.

Urmi was the fifth elephant to be rescued near the army cantonment in Bengdubi on January 10.

The calves brought to the beat office in serious condition are well now, thanks to the care of the guards and the vet.

“The pilkhana will be a different one. A number of small rooms will be constructed so that the calves can take shelter during rain or winter. As the facility will come up near the beat office, the foresters will be able to keep a close watch on the animals. If we can train the animals properly, they will become real assets for the sanctuary,” said Prakash.