A wild elephant, which was named Yamagaj by conservationists, has been wreaking havoc at Chakari area in ward 22 of Jitpur Simara Sub-Metropolitan City in Bara district over the past week.

The local residents are living in constant fear as the male tusker of about 15 years old has damaged houses and destroyed crops in the area. Stating that the authorities did not take initiatives to control the marauding elephant and protect people’s lives and property, locals staged a protest by entering the captive elephants’ shed at Amalekhgunj in Parsa National Park on Friday.

Following the protest, the Parsa National Park pledged to increase its activities along with other stakeholders to monitor and control the wayward animal. The protesting locals and the national park officials held a discussion and reached an agreement regarding control of the elephant.

“It was agreed to increase monitoring and patrolling in the affected area. As per the agreement, the national park, the division forest office, police, district administration and local residents will work together to monitor and control the elephant and other wild animals,” said Santosh Kumar Bhagat, information officer at the Parsa National Park.

Residents of ward 22 of Jitpur Simara complained that wild elephants and tigers frequently enter their settlement and cause damage. According to them, one elephant damaged four houses in the past week while a tiger killed several goats over the past few months.

“Yamagaj has been roaming the Chakari area for the past week. The areas are outside the buffer zone forests. We have installed two trapping cameras in the area to monitor the elephant and tiger,” said Bhagat.

Yamagaj has been wreaking havoc mainly in Parsa, Bara, Rautahat and Makawanpur districts over the past three years and has killed five people during the period. According to the Parsa National Park, the elephant killed two people in Bara, two in Rautahat and one in Makawanpur.

Yamagaj came to the central Tarai from eastern Nepal three years ago. According to conservationists, wild elephants migrate to Chitwan National Park through Jhapa and Koshi Tappu Wildlife Reserve in June-July and return to the same area in winter.

However, Yamagaj is still roaming in the central Tarai districts. The violent elephant was named Yamagaj after it killed a woman in Amalekhgunj, Bara on the eve of Yama Panchak, the Tihar festival, in 2022. The victim was herding her goats and cattle when she was attacked. After the incident, technicians from Chitwan National Park cut off its tusks but its aggression did not recede.

Yamagaj also had caused trouble inside the Parsa National Park. Conservationists had a tough time protecting the captive female elephants of the park from violent elephants two years ago. Yamagaj used to visit the place in Amalekhgunj where eight female elephants of the national park were kept. It harassed the captive female elephants and stole their food.

Due to Yamagaj’ terror the park administration had no alternative to shift the captive elephants to Rambhauribhar, Bara. The national park has yet to bring back the displaced elephants to their shed in Amalekhgunj.