Amravati, Maharashtra: Students of a school in Maharashtra’s Amravati district celebrated World Elephant Day in a unique way by cutting a cake and waving to four elephants, a forest official said on Tuesday. He said the students were also told about the importance of saving elephants at an event held in Kolkas area of Amravati on the occasion of World Elephant Day on Monday, which falls under the Melghat Tiger Reserve.
The forest department had invited students of the Zilla Parishad School at Semadoh in Melghat area for the event held in the Kolkas forest area, which houses four elephants – Jayshree, Champakali, Lakshmi and Sundarmala. The students cut a cake and waved to the elephants on the occasion, the official said. He said forest officials told the students about the importance of saving elephants in view of human-wildlife conflict and habitat destruction, which remain a threat to elephants.
“Elephants are important ecosystem engineers. They create pathways in dense forest habitats through which other animals can pass,” the official said. Elephants help preserve the environment and are integral to the rich biodiversity, he said. Elephant safaris are available for tourists in the Kolkas area, the official said.
