Four female elephants were found abandoned outside a village in Dantiwada tehsil of Banaskantha district Tuesday morning. After spotting the four animals, local residents informed the forest officials who, in turn, took custody of the four while also arranging water and fodder for them.
Range Forest Officer of Dantiwada range Shaktisinh Parmar said, “Today morning, four elephants have been found abandoned outside Satsan village. The local villagers informed us after which we have taken the animals into custody and have arranged for their fooder and water. All four are female elephants and healthy. It seems somebody has abandoned the animals in the night time.”
“We are trying to find out if how these elephants reached the spot. But so far, we have not got any details regarding that,” Parmar added.
District Forest Officer of Banaskantha Mitesh Patel said, “We have taken the four elephants into our custody. They have been provided fodder and water. A veterinary doctor is also there. All four seem like domestic elephants. We have informed Chief Wildlife Warden about the incident and will act as per his guidance.”
“In Gujarat, elephants are being kept mainly by temples. So, we are considering to inform the temples (which keep elephants). We have informed the Jagannath temple (of Ahmedabad) as well. We will check the database of temples which keep elephants and then inform them. If nobody comes forward then we can shift them to elephant care centre,” he added.
According to Patel, no offence has been registered and it may be registered if somebody comes forward with a complaint that his/her elephants were stolen. Patel said that prima facie this does not seem to be a case of elephant smuggling.
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