Sonepur, Nov. 21: Elephant owners and keepers in Bihar are worried over the gradual drop in the population of the pachyderms in the state.

Apart from the elephants, the age-old profession of mahouts also seems to be dying gradually. A meeting to deliberate on the conservation of elephants and mahouts in Bihar was held at Sonepur Mela on Wednesday.

“Around a thousand elephants used to come to Sonepur Mela till the late ’80s,but their numbers has reduced to around 30 in the past two-three years. These majestic animals are on the verge of extinction at present and if the government does not take steps for their conservation then our future generation would only see these tuskers in books and museums,” said Akhtar Imam, an elephant owner from Bodhgaya, who has been coming to Sonepur cattle fair for the past 15 years.

Trade of elephants has been stopped at Sonepur fair since 2002 because of the strict implementation of the Wildlife (Protection) Act and further denial of transfer of ownership certificate to the elephant owners.

The mahouts have also raised serious concerns over the gradual extinction of their profession as a result of falling number of the jumbos.

Zahir Khan, around 90 years old, who has been a mahout since he was 12, said: “The traditional mahouts are shifting to other occupations such as farming or labourer among others.”

In a bid to improve and optimise the welfare of captive elephants, Wildlife Trust of India (WTI) has also held the 12th annual health check-up camp, which concluded on Wednesday, at the fair ground. Apart from detailed health check-up of the elephants, the WTI also advised the mahouts and elephant owners on scientific husbandry and management practices.

Abhijeet Bhawal, a veterinary surgeon with WTI-International Fund for Animal Welfare, who supervised this year’s elephant health camp, said: “We examine the body condition, age, foot pads, toenails in both fore and hind limbs and eyes among other body parts for any ailments and start treatment accordingly in the camps. Based on the observation, we are of the view that the elephants are in better condition this year. Moreover, we also check for the presence of microchip in the tuskers according to Project Elephant initiative.”