Kapilash elephant rescue centre in Odisha has two new members, count rises to seven

DHENKANAL: The Kapilash rescue centre has now two new elephant calves, taking their count to seven.
Of the seven rescued elephants, four are adults and three calves. Four of the pachyderms are males and three females, informed Dhenkanal divisional forest officer (DFO) Prakash Chandra Gogineni.

The DFO informed that two calves named Shyama and Siva arrived at the centre recently. Seven-month-old Siva came from Chhendipada area in Angul district last month. After being separated from its herd, the calf was wandering in the forest. Siva was rescued by Forest department staff. 

Similarly, the second newcomer three-month-old Shyama came from Champua range of Keonjhar district. This calf too was abandoned by its herd. Both the calves have been rehabilitated in Kapilash and are in good health, Gogineni said.

The rescue-cum-rehabilitation centre is being headed by a range officer. "Normally we release female elephants in the wild. The release of elephants after rehabilitation at the centre will be decided by the PCCF (Wildlife)," the DFO said.

The rescue centre for elephants at Kapilash is the second such facility in the State after Chandaka. Established in 2010, the centre spreading over 25 hectare of forest land, has the capacity to house 15 elephants.

The State government bears the daily expenses of the centre. Besides, the Centre also provides funds for development activities at the facility, Gogineni added.