Tripura: Tale of a wild killer elephant named “Moti”

Forest department’s effort to radio collar it hitherto failed

Our Bureau

AGARTALA, May 13, 2024: Tripura Forest Department has been struggling to address the issue of wild elephant attacks in residential areas of the Teliamura subdivision in Khowai district. Despite reintroducing the failed initiative of using radio collars on elephants, which is being funded by the government, the department has not been successful in mitigating the problem.

The current initiative to collar wild elephants is expected to be time-consuming, and its success is uncertain. These attacks have resulted in loss of life, destruction of homes and crops in several villages of Teliamura.

Although local residents have raised concerns, no concrete action has been taken to address the issue. Recently, the department resumed their year-old initiative to collar an aggressive elephant named “Moti” to protect people from attacks.

The team is currently working in areas such as DM Colony and North Maharanipur to tie radio collar on Moti. The department officials have stated that the effort will continue until it is successful.

However, there is no guarantee that the government will continue to fund this initiative if it is not successful. The villagers in Teliamura have been facing elephant attacks for 25–30 years, with various species causing fatalities.

Despite spending a significant amount of money, the forest department has been unable to protect the villagers from attacks of tuckers. It is uncertain how much longer it will take to ensure the safety of the local population.

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