Bettiah: The Valmiki Tiger Reserve (VTR) will soon resound with the trumpets of elephants.
Officials have stepped up efforts to ferry 15 elephants from the forests of Karnataka and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands for better monitoring and deep patrolling in the Valmikinagar Tiger Reserve forests.
The forest department has started constructing elephant sheds at several locations within the tiger reserve limits, including Valmikinagar, Naurangia Done, Gobardhana, Maguraha and Ragiyaha.
"Four base camps and five transit camps for the elephants will soon come up at the VTR," said S. Chandrasekhar, the chief wildlife conservator of VTR. "Once constructed, we will see to the transportation of the tuskers.
"The basic idea behind the decision is to boost our rescue operations and deep patrolling in the forest areas," Chandrasekhar added.
Spread over 900sqkm area, about 17 per cent of the total geographical area of West Champaran district, VTR is divided into eight forest ranges and home to the royal Bengal tigers, black bear, wild buffaloes, boars, dogs, deer, reptiles and 241 species of birds and a variety of butterflies.
Besides bringing elephants for monitoring and patrolling, the forest department is also contemplating the study for new habitats.
"In a sharp contrast to other sanctuaries, the VTR is quite insulated from any ecological disturbance. Increase in the number of flora and fauna stand testimony to it. We are set to study and explore the possibilities in our action plan this year," said an official.
The study for new habitats was necessitated after the Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun, located the Madanpur area conducive for rhinos.