Do not disturb: Sabitri and her mate take a bath in Ranigunj on Thursday. Picture by Gour Sharma

Ranigunj, Aug. 30: Their trunks slung around each other, Sabitri and her mate can savour a few more days of bliss.

The forest department has decided to leave the lovers alone through the mating season.

“This is the time for them to mate and it may take as much as a week or even three days for them to lose interest in each other,” said Kumar Vimal, the Durgapur divisional forest officer.

A 26-year-old wild tusker from Jharkhand had broken through the fence of a circus in the middle of last night, found his 20-year-old object of affection and eloped with her into the jungles.

Forest officials said they would keep a close watch on the elephants so that people do not disturb them.

“If they are disturbed now, they will definitely turn violent and can damage life and property. We will monitor their movements till Sabitri is ready to be taken back to the circus,” an official said.

The elephants have been moving around Ranigunj and were last spotted in a secluded grove in Tetulia village, about 170km from Calcutta.

The forest officials decided that the two would not be driven out forcefully. Instead, they would wait for them to tire of each other’s company.

Another person waiting for the romance to end is the manager of Olympic Circus, set up at Kumarbazar, about 175km from Calcutta.

“Sabitri used to perform tricks like smashing a coconut before a Ganesha idol and was our star attraction,” said Chandranath Banerjee.