Dalma Wildlife Sanctuary

Jamshedpur, April 4: Salt slabs hanging from trees is a common sight in Dalma Wildlife Sanctuary and the forests of Dhalbhum and Seraikela-Kharsawan these days.

With the onset of summer, foresters have embarked on a mission to keep marauding elephants at bay and salt has emerged a way of achieving that objective.

The salt also helps prevent dehydration and heat-related complications in animals like deer and langurs.

Forest divisions of Ranchi, Dhalbhum and Seraikela-Kharsawan have already procured large quantity of salt for the purpose.

Animals, including pachyderms, consume a lot of salt during summer.

“Animals come to lick the salt hung from the trees,” said A.T. Mishra, divisional forest officer of Dhalbhum and Seraikela-Kharsawan.

According to him, the animals find salt on their own by digging earth but the forest department supplements the requirement. The 25-kg slabs are hung from vantage locations, especially near water bodies or natural drains inside the jungles.

Sidharth Tripathy, divisional forest officer of Ranchi Wildlife Division, said “salt lick” was an annual practice which was intensified during summer.

Providing salt to elephants keeps them from venturing into villages in search of the substance. It’s quite an effective way to solve a serious problem, Mishra said.

Echoing Mishra, Tripathy said they were sure of keeping the elephants away from the villages scattered around Dalma hills.

Some villages and hamlets are also pocketed inside the hills, making the job of foresters that much more challenging.

Elephants often venture into villages in search of food or salt. Instances of jumbos wreaking havoc in villages of Singhbhum are common.

Since almost all the elephants of Dalma have assembled in the sanctuary after a long trek from adjoining Midnapore in Bengal, the forest are being careful about handling them.

The pachyderms migrate to Bengal during winter and spend the summer in the core area of the sanctuary.

“Elephants destroy kitchens for salt. They sometimes kill villagers. It’s a very serious problem. Ways have to be found out to tackle the menace. Salt lick is one such way,” an official of the Ranchi division said.

According to forest officials, besides guards and volunteers, members of village samitis are also involved in keeping a watch over the stock.

“We hang the salt slabs from low branches of trees so that the animals can lick the salt comfortably. We also maintain adequate stock with periodical checks,” an official of the Ranchi division added.