Feb. 18: An elephant called Tarzan throughout the night stood guarding the body of his caretaker of 10 years after he died in a rhino attack.
Today, when kunkis (the guide elephants of the forest department) and forest officials found them in the Jaldapara National Park, Tarzan was standing beside his caretaker Shibram Nayek's body and would not let anyone come close.
A team of forest officers had gone in search of Nayek, 38, and Tarzan last evening after they were reported missing.
But fog and darkness stopped them from continuing the operation.
The foresters said Tarzan was so upset that he couldn't save his master when he was being attacked by at least two rhinos, he did not eat when he was brought back to the shelter.
Nayek had gone to the forest with Tarzan yesterday so the animal could graze.
"But both Nayek and the male elephant didn't return in the evening and foresters launched a search. Darkness and fog came in the way of the operation. The officials went out this morning with six kunkis. The team was led by the divisional forest officer (Bhaskar J.V.)," said a forest officer.
When the team was returning, the mahouts of the kunkis heard Tarzan's trumpets.
"We moved in the direction of the trumpets. Tarzan was standing beside Nayek's body and its trunk was bloodied. After more than three hours, with the help of other kunkis, we could take the body back. Tarzan was later brought back to the pilkhana," said Bhaskar.
He said the foresters had surveyed the area and found out that Nayek had been killed by at least two rhinos.
A forest officer said the area where Tarzan was grazing had a lot of rhinos.
"Rhinos don't like anybody intruding in their area. That is why the caretaker was attacked," he said.
Bhaskar said Tarzan was so traumatised by its caretaker's death that it didn't eat anything and was standing in a corner of the pilkhana (training centre for pet elephants).
"Nayek had been with Tarzan for almost 10 years. Preliminary investigation suggests that there were a number of rhinos and Nayek definitely was on the ground while Tarzan was grazing when the rhinos attacked him. Blood on its trunk shows that Tarzan had tried to save Nayak. Normally, kunkis become upset when they lose anybody close to them," Bhaskar said.