Lucky, the days-old elephant rescued from floods and named by chief minister Mamata Banerjee during her recent visit to north Bengal, is preparing for a new life at the Holong central pilkhana.
The pilkana is an elephant shelter house inside the Jaldapara National Park in Alipurduar district.
The female calf, now about a month old, was rescued on October 8 after being swept away by the swollen Mechi river in Kurseong during the floods October 5.
Initially separated from her mother in the Tarabari area, she was carried downstream, where residents of India and Nepal jointly rescued her.
A forester feeds the rescued elephant calf at the Holong central pilkhana in Jaldapara, Alipurduar, on October 13
Forest officials later released the calf in the Kolabari forest under the Kurseong division to reunite her with her mother.
However, despite continuous monitoring by foresters, she failed to rejoin the herd. Considering her tender age and vulnerability, the Jaldapara wildlife division took her in for specialised care.
“Lucky is doing well at the pilkhana. She is being monitored round the clock and often moves around freely within the enclosure,” said Parveen Kaswan, divisional forest officer of Jaldapara Wildlife Division.
Most pet elephants are trained to be kunkis or trained elephants used by the forest department in various tasks, including migitating human-animal conflicts, aiding in rescue operations during floods and even taking tourists on joyrides.
However, to start with Lucky has just started taking the first early steps of training.
“Lucky is being trained to follow a strict daily routine, which includes responding to calls, getting fed and bathed at specified timings. She is also undergoing regular medical check-up by a veterinary officer,” said a source.
Currently, two caretakers have been deployed exclusively for Lucky’s care.
“They are literally playing the role of her surrogate mother,” a forest official said.
Jaldapara has long been known for successfully rehabilitating orphaned and abandoned elephant calves, many of which later grow into trained kunki elephants that assist in forest operations.
The park currently houses over 80 pet elephants, including several lactating females that also help nurture the rescued elephant calves.
According to forest officials, rescued elephants are generally sent to the forestland for grazing after turning five years of age along with other older elephants. This helps them become social.
They receive formal training around the age of around nine to become working elephants.
“Until then, the characteristics of the animal are closely monitored to understand whether a particular animal is fit to become a kunki,” said a source.
In the October 5 floods, 10 kunki (trained) elephants of the forest department turned rescuers in Jalpaiguri and Alipurduar districts, helping foresters save animals and tourists.
Bhaskar J.V., the chief conservator of forests (wildlife-north) had said that the 10 kunkis rescued stranded animals and tourists from the flooded Aranya forest lodge in Madarihat.