In a move to ensure visitor and staff safety, elephant welfare, accident prevention, and quick emergency response at all elephant camps in the State, the Karnataka Forest Department has released the Karnataka Elephant Camp Safety Protocol.

The protocol prohibits all kinds of physical contact between tourists and elephants.

The move comes in the backdrop of the recent death of a tourist and an elephant in a fight between two elephants at the Dubare camp.

No physical contact

Ten non-negotiable safety rules have been introduced, including the prohibition of any physical contact with elephants by visitors, such as touching, direct feeding, bathing, taking selfies near elephants, or standing close to them. It also specifies a zoning system, under which visitors must remain in the green zone behind barricades.

A minimum safe viewing distance, preferably 10 metres wherever feasible, based on site risk, is to be maintained. Not more than 50-75 visitors should be present at the green zone viewing point at a time, and a slot duration of 45-60 minutes, including briefing, guided viewing, interpretation, exit, and buffer, is recommended.

Only authorised staff and emergency responders are allowed in the amber zone, which is the controlled staff area. In the red zone, which is the Elephant Operational Area, only mahouts, kavadis, veterinarians, and authorised forest staff are permitted.

Categorising the bathing of elephants as a high-risk operational activity, the protocol prohibits tourists from entering the river or bathing zone.

Max of 10 elephants

No more than ten elephants must be kept for public viewing, and elephants in musth, pre-musth, or those that are aggressive, injured, sick, fatigued, stressed, newly captured, recently involved in fights, or under uncertain command, as well as mothers with calves (until about six months old), must not be exposed to the public.

Forcing elephants to bow down, blow water from their trunks, trumpet, or perform any kind of tricks is prohibited.

Behaviour assessment

As per the protocol, elephants should not be placed close enough to push, gore, displace, or disturb each other during public viewing or operational handling. It further mandates a daily Green-Amber-Red behaviour assessment for elephants.

Green denotes elephants that are calm, normal, responsive to mahout commands, with no injuries, no signs of musth, and no abnormal behaviour. Elephants that are restless, fatigued, mildly irritable, stressed, weak, or recently disturbed fall under the amber category. Those that are aggressive, in musth or pre-musth, injured, sick, abnormal, non-responsive, recently involved in fights, or exhibiting high-risk behaviour are categorised as red.

When in doubt, the elephant shall be treated as amber or red, not green, the protocol said. It also mandates CCTV monitoring of critical areas with daily functional checks.

“If there is any doubt about elephant behaviour, crowd control, staff availability, weather, river safety, CCTV/control room readiness, communication, barricade strength, or emergency route clearance, public activity shall be stopped or suspended,” it said.

The rules will apply to all elephant camps, captive elephant holding centres, bathing and feeding locations, interpretation centres, public viewing areas, temporary elephant camps and any place where tourists, students, mediapersons, officials or other visitors are allowed to view captive elephants.