IFAW (International Fund for Animal Welfare www.ifaw.org) and its partner, WTI (Wildlife Trust of India) today announced that six elephant calves have been successfully released to the wild in Manas National Park.
The elephants - which were hand-raised at the Centre for Wildlife Rehabilitation and Conservation (CWRC) - were transported 450 kilometres from India’s Kaziranga National Park to Manas National Park.
In Manas the elephants will be reintegrated into a wild herd once they are familiarized with the area. It is the first time elephants have been rehabilitated and released to the wild in India. Sri Lanka and Kenya are the only other countries to have successfully released hand-raised elephants into the wild.
“The elephants will be allowed to move freely in the jungle during the daytime under the supervision of a keeper,” said Dr. N. V. K. Ashraf, Director Wild Rescue of WTI. “At night, for their security, they will be sheltered in a stockade built in an area of about one hectare
.”
http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/WO0702/S00398.htm