More than 65 Indian elephants enter eastern Nepal

By Our Correspondent,Damak, June 3: A herd of more than 65 elephants entered Nepal from Bahundangi in Mechinagar Municipality, Jhapa, on Saturday night. 

According to the Elephant Information Centre at Bahundangi, these elephants were spotted at Prasad Gauda, Mechinagar Municipality-4, on Saturday night. 

Shankar Luintel from the Elephant Information Centre said that the elephants, which entered Nepal, returned to India by Sunday morning. Luintel, who is active in mitigating human-elephant conflict, said that except for one elephant, all other elephants returned to their native place by Sunday morning. 

Only one elephant has entered a local community forest in Nepal and it has not yet made its way back to where it came from, said Luitel. Following the entry of 65 elephants into Nepal, volunteers monitoring the elephants warned the locals of Bahundangi to stay alert.

When elephants are spotted entering Nepal from the banks of the Mechi River, a Rapid Response Team (RRT) directs them back to where they came from. Both Nepali and Indian youths are part of the Rapid Response Team (RRT) to monitor the elephants and reduce human-elephant conflict.

A year ago, a large herd of elephants entered Jhapa and they are yet to return to India, said Luintel. He said that dozens of elephants are still living in various community forests of eastern Nepal. Two or three elephants entering Nepal and returning to India have become everyday occurrences, said Arjun Karki, ward chairman of Mechinagar Municipality-4.