Elephant census in Chhattisgarh

Korba, Chhattisgarh, May 18 (UNI) As many as 13 wild elephants were found in Korba forest division during a census of the pachyderm in Chhattisgarh last week.

The three-day census from May 8 was the first such exercise carried out since the formation of Chhattisgarh on November 1, 2000.

Thirteen elephants, divided into two herds, were detected during the census in Korba forest area while no pachyderm was found in the adjoining Katghora forest division, according to Divisional Forest Officer Arun Pandey.

The census data will be officially announced by the Principal Chief Conservator of Forest shortly, he said.

Few districts in Chhattisgarh, including Sarguja and Jashpur, were facing the problems of elephants, which intruded into the state from the adjoining areas of Orissa and Jharkhand about a decade ago.

Though the tuskers often caused heavy damage to crops and houses and claimed few human lives, no major attempt was made to push back the wild elephants, which found the forest in Chhattisgarh as a suitable habitat.

UNI