Erstwhile rogue tusker Don of Dalma Wildlife Sanctuary, 20km from Jamshedpur, seems to have learnt some manners, thanks to either bullying elephants or peer acceptance. The 45-year-old tusker has been spotted hobnobbing with a herd of elephants at Dalma, considerably mellowed and friendly. And forest officials are heaving sighs of relief. “It seems Don has become docile. It’s a big relief for tourists and us,” admitted range officer Mangal Kashyap. According to guards posted at the sprawling 192sqkm sanctuary, the tusker has signed truce with other elephants. Don now has five elephants for company and is trying to gain entry into a herd. “Don was spotted with other elephants, including three tuskers, near Rajdoha at the sanctuary. He also smeared clay on his new-found friends,” one of the guards recalled. A forest team from the Mango range office came across an altogether different — almost gracious — Don last week. The tusker was standing on the middle of a dirt track, which leads to the Shiva temple near Pinderbera guesthouse. “Unlike earlier occasions, when he would come charging, the tusker stood his ground for a moment before stepping aside to allow our jeep to pass. We have never come across such behaviour,” said Dinesh Kumar, a forest staff who bore the brunt of Don’s wrath near a waterfall at Rajdoha in April when the elephant chased his vehicle. Speaking to The Telegraph, A.T. Mishra, former divisional forest officer (DFO) of Ranchi Division (Wildlife), said Don’s change was welcome news for tourism. Mishra, who recently took charge as DFO of Seraikela-Kharsawan, attributed two reasons for the change. “Don must have either overpowered a leader of a herd or is slowly but steadily getting accepted by a group of elephants,” he said. He pointed out that generally elephants become rough or ill tempered due to annual hormonal change. “Adult elephants become musth or sexually aggressive once a year. But since Don’s behaviour has always been brutal, he must have asserted his supremacy over a herd,” the DFO explained. The tusker, who rarely ever migrates, is not a threat to people of Dalma alone. Two families from Jamshedpur had a close shave on July 3 last year, when Don took a liking for their Maruti Swift and played with it for 30 minutes, before abandoning it near a drain. He intercepted a team of forest officials and almost trampled to death one Pintu Sardar, a 32-year-old resident of Rajdoha.