Jumbo tracking team for Buxa

TT, Alipurduar, Sept. 8: Officials of the Buxa Tiger Reserve have decided to form two elephant tracking teams equipped with cellphones, walkie-takies searchlights, firecrackers and cameras that will keep the field director informed on the movement of jumbos.

The two teams will also keep vigil to spot poachers.

Ujjwal Ghosh, the Buxa field director, said: "One team will be have a person with field experience, two villagers, one armed forest guard and the driver of the vehicle. The team will have a cellphone, a walkie-talkie set, searchlights, firecrackers and camera etc. Its job will be to track tuskers in the forest and send the information regarding the location of the tusker to me immediately. Once we come to know the location of the tusker, I will ask foresters of the concerned beat to concentrate on that particular location."

Ghosh said tracking of elephants will benefit the foresters in two ways. "First, we will be able to prevent poaching. Also, if any tusker moves towards any village, we will alert residents as well as the forest staff," Ghosh said.

Ghosh said: "We will pay the group members other than the foresters. If at any time, more than one jumbo is located in different areas of the division, the team will be divided into two teams. The team members will note down the shape, size, movement pattern etc and will report me immediately. Already our SMS system has become effective and after getting our texts, villagers become alert quite early."

Today, an elephant strayed into the Morolpara village near Jalpaiguri town early this morning and it took about eight hours for a team of forest staff to drive it back into the forest. According to Sanjay Dutta, the ranger of Belakoba forest, the elephant has killed two cows while being chased by a crowd of villagers.