THE JHARKHAND STORY NETWORK
Daltonganj, February 21: A lone tusker that strayed into Jharkhand’s Palamu district from Bihar was successfully driven back to the Rohtas forests early Saturday morning, officials confirmed. The elephant had entered Hussainabad in Palamu on Friday afternoon and remained within Jharkhand territory for over 15 hours.
According to Divisional Forest Officer (DFO), Medininagar Forest Division, Satyam Kumar, the operation was conducted without any loss of life, injury or reported property damage.
Calm Handling Prevents Human-Elephant Conflict
Unlike previous incidents involving lone tuskers straying into human habitation, this elephant did not enter residential areas or cause destruction. Officials credited patient and tactful handling of the situation for averting any confrontation.
“The first thing our forest team did was to keep the tusker away from crowds. It was neither agitated nor provoked,” Kumar told The Jharkhand Story Network.
“It worked in our favour. The elephant remained calm and did not attempt to enter inhabited areas. Both humans and the tusker remained safe,” he added.
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A 15-hour presence of a lone elephant often raises fears of chasing, trampling and damage. However, none of these occurred. Forest personnel maintained continuous monitoring, updating the DFO on every movement of the tusker.
Massive Appeal Helped Control the Situation
The incident coincided with intense activity in Hussainabad due to the upcoming Nagar Panchayat elections across 16 wards, with voting scheduled for February 23.
The forest department issued a strong public appeal urging residents not to crowd, disturb or attempt selfies with the elephant. Officials said this restraint played a crucial role in maintaining control.
“I had given strict instructions to avoid any reckless behaviour. The team remained disciplined and focused on safely redirecting the elephant. They executed the operation flawlessly,” Kumar said.
Extensive Deployment for Night Operation
The drive-back operation involved 14 forest guards, five Home Guard personnel, three drivers and three vehicles. Equipment such as firecrackers, torch lights, dragon lights and sirens were used. A drone was kept on standby.
Two additional teams from the East and West ranges of Chhaterpur were kept on alert throughout the night in case reinforcements were required.
Kumar specifically commended officers Akhilesh Das, Gaurav Nirala and Mithun Rajak and their teams for their professionalism during the night-long operation.
Strategic Route Chosen
“We had two possible routes to guide the elephant — northwest towards Garhwa forest or back to Rohtas, from where it had entered. Considering the ongoing Urban Local Body elections, movement towards Garhwa would have been risky. We therefore chose the Rohtas route,” Kumar explained.
The tusker passed through moderately to densely inhabited areas, including Akouni, Basariya, Jharha and Budhuwa before crossing the Sone River to re-enter Bihar.
“The elephant began its return journey around 5 am and was reported to have reached Rohtas by 7 am,” the DFO said.
No Loss of Life or Property
When asked about damage, Kumar confirmed: “There has been no loss of life, not even an injury. We have not received any complaints regarding property or crop damage, either digitally or otherwise.”
Asked whether the elephant could return, he added: “We remain watchful and vigilant round the clock. There is no complacency on our part.”
The Bihar tusker’s brief visit ended without the chaos often associated with elephant movement in Jharkhand.