Rogue elephant swims 5km across dam, eludes 150 personnel in MP

A wild elephant that sparked panic across Maihar in Madhya Pradesh for 22 days has finally slipped away from authorities by swimming across Bansagar Dam, covering approximately 5 kilometres through water before disappearing into the forests of Shahdol district.

The tusker, identified as E-5, had remained a persistent threat to the region for nearly three weeks, prompting an extensive search and containment operation involving over 150 wildlife personnel and six trained kumkhi elephants. Despite these considerable resources, the animal managed to evade all efforts to capture or herd it back to its natural habitat.

The dam crossing marked a dramatic finale to the operation, with the rogue elephant successfully navigating the water barrier to reach forested areas beyond the immediate reach of the containment teams. The animal's successful evasion highlights the challenges wildlife officials face when dealing with large, intelligent pachyderms that can adapt quickly to human-led tracking and capture strategies.

Wildlife authorities in Madhya Pradesh have not announced renewed efforts to track the elephant in Shahdol, though the incident underscores ongoing tensions between wildlife conservation and human safety in regions bordering elephant corridors in central India.