Sanctuary Asia — January 2018

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to acknowledge it while the centre remains obsessed

with gau-mata.

Rajarshi Bhattacharjee, Durgapur

To all who have viewed this horror and are no doubt horrifi ed

and angry... the request is please get involved. Write to the

Minister at MOE&F (http://envfor.nic.in/). Please express your

concern and outrage at the event but please be civilised in what

you write. The biggest threat and the biggest opportunity our

wildlife has is the lack of support for conservation.

Ashok Vashisht, Panchkula

This image completely breaks my heart. It’s sad to see what

these beautiful creatures have to endure.

Jessica Atkins, New York

South Bengal is in a mess with respect to elephant protection.

The government does not care. Please let me know if you are

aware of any one involved in elephant conservation in south

Bengal and I would like to help as well. Please dedicate an entire

issue about the problem of elephant mismanagement in South

Bengal. Especially, Bankura district.

Partha Sarathy, South Bengal

I saw the photo and my heart broke for their suff ering. I

understand there is escalating confl ict between humans and

these magnifi cent animals, but to infl ict such horror is beyond

understanding. Going to bed last night I could not stop thinking

about their pain and fear, and when I woke up, I decided to

start a petition on care2.com.

Ali Murf, Ohio

I am an American living in Liberia and I saw the award-winning

photo ‘Hell Is Here’. I want to fi nd out ways I can contribute

to the protection of these elephants in this specifi c location in

India. Can you please direct me to an organisation working on

elephant conservation and protection there? It would be so

greatly appreciated.

Whitney Haruf, [email protected]

The images are beyond disturbing. What actions are the Indian

government taking to punish these despicable cowards and put

them behind bars and to protect these innocent elephants?

What else can be done?

Brian H., [email protected]

For the Editors’ take on the issue, please turn to page 96.

http://www.facebook.com/sanctuaryasiapage

@SanctuaryAsia

On November 6, 2017 the world’s slumber was broken by
a searing image of a burning elephant calf and its mother,
attempting to fl ee a mob in the Bankura district of West
Bengal. The haunting scene captured by Sanctuary’s Wildlife
Photographer of the Year 2017 Biplab Hazra drew an
avalanche of comments on our social media channels. We
share their pain and concern.

COMMENTS

I am a mother and a teacher. I have talked a lot about animal
human interactions. I try to keep it positive as I teach 8-15 year
olds. What else can I do? I don’t want my daughter to sit with
my smart phone and cuss at people for doing this; it is a waste
of time to do that.
Barkha Agrawal, New Jersey

Our village is frequently invaded by these wild animals that
come all the way from the Dalma Range. The fault of course
lies with us. It is because of rampant habitat destruction (in
this case the forest) that the elephants come near human
settlements. This has been a great problem over the years.
And as the picture shows these elephants have been
subjected to terrible abuse and torture. When the elephants
come near a village, the respective Forest Department hires
people to drive them back to the jungle. These people are
locally known as Hulia Party. They use fi re crackers, big and
bright lights, harpoon, tin drums to make noises to scare them
off , torches and bow and arrows. There is no denying that
these poor creatures suff er greatly at our hands. But it is also
true that they have wrecked havoc on poor peasants that are
entirely dependent on agriculture. They ransack the paddy,
potato, and wheat fi elds. Many farmers have committed
suicide because of the losses. But worse still, they have killed
innocent people too. The silver lining amongst this gloom
is that now the Forest Department has built deep trenches
along the perimeter of the jungle fenced with electrical wire.
That electrifi ed fence won’t kill them but it’s strong enough to
repel them. Hopefully, we have left the worse behind us.
Mainak Mazumder, West Bengal

This image completely and utterly breaks my heart. I am
overwhelmed by the fear and anxiety, pain and torment, these
precious creatures have undergone and are enduring. What
can be done?
Michelle Maynard Koenig, Ohio

I can’t stand to see this. There are better ways to deal with
the problem of elephants coming into the rural areas. The
government needs to end this abuse and come up with a
better solution.
Deborah L. Hretsina, Ontario

As long as the crisis stays away from the seats of power,
the state government can conveniently choose not <www.sanctuaryasia.com>