BHUBANESWAR: To save elephants from falling into deserted wells, the forest department within the Athmalik division has decided to construct wood bamboo fences around such wells.
Wells that experience dried up and are now not in use pose a significant threat to the pachyderms as they can not gauge their depth and fall in them, leading to as many as 41 circumstances of elephants having been injured from falling into unused wells since 2012. Five of those 41 elephants have died.
The forests adjacent Athmalik, Athgarh, Dhenkanal and Cuttack are 'elephant-rich' in forester's terms. In those regions, elephant herds create havoc in human habitations, harm crops and destroy homes. These same animals additionally face dangers stemming from human mistakes, like the specter of deserted wells.
Divisional forest officer (Athmalik) Samyak Samantra said growing those wood barriers involves most effective the price of labour. "We have bamboo that are cut and pruned to allow further growth. So are the branches of other trees. We will mix both and raise a fence, four to five feet above the ground," Samantra said.
He clarified that any fence - wood or concrete - can be damaged by way of elephants. "But the very fact that they are around the wells will help elephants know from a distance that there is a physical barrier. The elephants won't be caught unawares upon coming close to the wells. The only purpose of installing the wooden fence is allowing the animal to use its intelligence by identifying the object," the forest officer said.
In the Athmalik division itself, a two-year-old elephant calf had fallen into an deserted smartly in October last year and died. The villagers had spotted the calf 24 hours after it fell within the smartly.
Wells that experience dried up and are now not in use pose a significant threat to the pachyderms as they can not gauge their depth and fall in them, leading to as many as 41 circumstances of elephants having been injured from falling into unused wells since 2012. Five of those 41 elephants have died.
The forests adjacent Athmalik, Athgarh, Dhenkanal and Cuttack are 'elephant-rich' in forester's terms. In those regions, elephant herds create havoc in human habitations, harm crops and destroy homes. These same animals additionally face dangers stemming from human mistakes, like the specter of deserted wells.
Divisional forest officer (Athmalik) Samyak Samantra said growing those wood barriers involves most effective the price of labour. "We have bamboo that are cut and pruned to allow further growth. So are the branches of other trees. We will mix both and raise a fence, four to five feet above the ground," Samantra said.
He clarified that any fence - wood or concrete - can be damaged by way of elephants. "But the very fact that they are around the wells will help elephants know from a distance that there is a physical barrier. The elephants won't be caught unawares upon coming close to the wells. The only purpose of installing the wooden fence is allowing the animal to use its intelligence by identifying the object," the forest officer said.
In the Athmalik division itself, a two-year-old elephant calf had fallen into an deserted smartly in October last year and died. The villagers had spotted the calf 24 hours after it fell within the smartly.
Bamboo fences around wells to prevent jumbos from falling into them
![Bamboo fences around wells to prevent jumbos from falling into them]()
Reviewed by Kailash
on
March 19, 2018
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