Wildlife authorities at a sanctuary in eastern India are providing special training for elephants they’ve rescued. <br /><br />Lost wild elephants rescued by forest officials are brought back to the rehabilitation center at the Jaldapara Wildlife Sanctuary. <br /><br />The elephant cubs are trained for patrolling purposes.<br /><br />[Buddhadeb Mondal, Forest Ranger]: <br />"Some experienced Mahouts [elephant riders] are giving training to these cubs so that we can use these cubs when they grow up for patrolling purposes." <br /><br />The sanctuary has been rescuing and training the elephants for a long time.<br /><br />[Ravi Biswasarma, Jaldapara Wildlife Sanctuary]: <br />"These elephant cubs are fed by us and when they grow up they will patrol the forest."<br /><br />According to forest sources, the rehabilitation center has 17 captive elephants. <br /><br />A national census in 2005 showed there were between 25 to 28 thousand elephants in India, including only 1,500 male tuskers of breeding age.
