Two separate herds of about 14 elephants slipped into the Dalma Wildlife Sanctuary late Tuesday night.

Over 44 elephants have so far moved into the sanctuary after their annual sojourn to the jungles of West Midnapore and Bankura in the neighbouring Bengal.

Over 80 jumbos are still anchored in Bengal and in the fringe pockets of the 192sqkm sanctuary, 30km from Jamshedpur.

Cold conditions is keeping elephants at bay from the sanctuary.

A tracker — village youths recruited as daily wagers to keep watch on movement of elephants — said the herd entered the sanctuary and are at present stationed in the foothills.

“The herd is in the foothills with other elephants who had arrived earlier,” he said.

The elephants will move into the core area of the sanctuary once the temperature rises. The rest of the elephants would also be back home once the chill subsides.

“It is around 9 degrees Celsius inside Dalma, which is too much for the elephants to bear. Once the condition improves rest of the jumbos will amble back home,” a forest guard said.

Dalma elephants migrate to Bengal in August-September and are usually back home in February.