Elephants facing anthropogenic hazards in Assam

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Representative image. File | Photo Credit: Ritu Raj Konwar

Elephants are increasingly facing anthropogenic or human-induced hazards in Assam.

Days after wildlife veterinarians treated a female elephant’s trunk trapped in a wire-mesh snare on the fringes of western Assam’s Raimona National Park, a sub-adult elephant was freed from a truck tyre stuck around its neck.

The elephant, struggling to shake off the tyre, was spotted in a herd at Bukhial Tea Estate in eastern Assam’s Golaghat district on Thursday (September 10, 2026) morning.

Officials from the Golaghat Forest Division and a team from the Centre for Wildlife Rehabilitation and Conservation (CWRC) near Kaziranga rushed to the location to assess the situation and monitor the herd’s movement.

“The rescue team carefully removed the tyre from around the distressed elephant’s neck after it was chemically immobilised. The elephant later returned to its herd,” Bhaskar Choudhury, CWRC’s centre head and lead veterinarian at the Wildlife Trust of India (WTI), said.

On Wednesday (September 9, 2026) morning, an elephant calf was found trapped in a muddy trench at Seconee Tea Estate near Kaziranga. The herd of the calf, estimated to be 4-6 weeks old, left after trying to guide it out of the trench.

Deep trenches to keep elephants away are often dug around tea estates.

Some tea garden workers and villagers nearby alerted the Kaziranga National Park authorities. A CWRC team was subsequently asked to help with the rescue operation.

The calf, dehydrated and suffering from severe muscular exhaustion, was lifted out of the trench and taken to the nearest forest beat office for veterinary care. It was given fluids to recuperate.

The team waited in vain for the elephant herd to return in search of the calf, which was later admitted to the CWRC for rehabilitation. The calf joined 10 other elephants currently under care at the centre.

“This calf’s journey from isolation and distress to safety and care reflects the dedication of local communities, forest officials, and wildlife experts working together. While we always prioritise reunion with the wild herd, rehabilitation offers this calf a second chance at life,” Dr Choudhury said.

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