KFD Elephant Kavadiga Recruitment 2026 Notification Out - Apply Offline for 57 Posts

The Karnataka Forest Department has issued five separate notifications - one for each circle - for direct recruitment to Group 'D' Elephant Kavadiga posts for the year 2026-27, under the Karnataka Forest Department Services (Recruitment) (Amendment) Rules, 2009. All five notifications are dated 27 July 2026 and follow common eligibility, age, and selection rules, with the same application period. Official Notification for Shivamogga Circle: Download Here Officical Notification for Chamarajanagara Circle: Download Here Officical Notification for Mysore Circle: Download Here Officical Notification for Kodagu Circle: Download Here Officical Notification for Kanara Circle: Download Here Official Website: https://aranya.gov.in/

If the last date happens to be declared a public holiday, the notifications state that the next working day at the same office will be treated as the new closing date. Applications received by post after the closing date/time will not be considered, regardless of the postal dispatch date.

A combined total of 57 Elephant Kavadiga posts are available across the five circles - 51 posts approved as fresh vacancies and 6 posts carried forward as backlog vacancies from an earlier 2022-23 recruitment cycle. The circle-wise and division-wise break-up is given below. Note: Within each circle's General/reserved-category allocation, horizontal reservation also applies for Ex-servicemen, Women, Persons with Disability, Project-Displaced persons, candidates who studied in Kannada medium, Rural candidates, and Third Gender candidates, as detailed in each circle's individual notification. One vacancy in the Mysuru circle's SC category (marked with an asterisk in the source notification) is subject to a pending court order on reservation percentages, dated 25 May 2026.

Candidates must hold Indian citizenship (or fall under specific categories of persons of Indian origin who migrated with the intention of permanently settling in India, as defined in the notification). Candidates must be residing within a notified forest area under the jurisdiction of the Karnataka Forest Department, within Karnataka state. Candidates must be able to speak and understand Kannada. Experience in elephant management/handling is mandatory for this post. The notifications do not specify a separate minimum educational qualification; the application form itself only asks candidates to declare their number of years of experience in handling elephants - it does not require submission of educational certificates. A male candidate who has a living spouse and marries again without obtaining prior permission from the Government is not eligible for appointment. Candidates must be ment

Candidates must have completed a minimum of 18 years of age as on the last date for submission of applications. Age is reckoned as on the last date of application, i.e., 03 September 2026. A one-time additional relaxation of 5 years in the maximum age limit has been extended to candidates of all categories participating in backlog recruitment notified up to 31 December 2027, per Government Order No. CiaSau 262 Senani 2025, dated 29 January 2026. Ex-servicemen are entitled to age relaxation equal to the number of years of armed forces service actually rendered, plus 3 years, subject to their overall eligibility for the post under their category.

Vacancies in each circle are reserved category-wise (Vertical Reservation: General/SC/ST/Category-I/Category-IIA/Category-IIB/Category-IIIA/Category-IIIB) as well as reservation-type-wise (Horizontal Reservation: Ex-servicemen, Women, Persons with Disability, Project-Displaced persons, Kannada-medium candidates, Rural candidates, and Third Gender candidates). Persons with Disability reservation has not been extended for this post specifically, since the Elephant Kavadiga role is not identified as suitable for PwD candidates as per Government Notification No. DPAR/52/SRR/99, dated 08.12.2002; the PwD reservation point is instead adjusted into the General (Others) category under horizontal reservation.

Selected candidates will be placed in the Group 'D' pay scale of ₹29,600-725-32,500-800-35,700-900-39,300-1,000-43,300-1,125-47,800-1,250-52,800, common across all five circles.

There is no application fee for this recruitment. The application form itself states that no fee is payable and that no supporting documents need to be enclosed at the time of initial application submission.

Selection is made purely through an interview and a performance assessment - there is no written examination for this post. Candidates are assessed on their ability to speak and comprehend Kannada, and on their practical experience and performance capability in elephant handling. The interview and performance assessment together carry a maximum of 100 marks. Based on the marks obtained and the category-wise vacancy position, a provisional select list is prepared and published on the official website, followed by a final select list after considering any objections. Candidates not present on the specified date and time for the interview/performance test will not be permitted to appear later, and the scheduled date will not be changed for any candidate. The interview/performance assessment process may be video-recorded or covered by CCTV, with the footage retained as backup for transparenc

No documents need to be attached with the initial application form. However, candidates called for interview/document verification must carry original documents along with self-attested photocopies, including: Proof of experience in elephant management, issued by the concerned Range Forest Officer or an officer senior to that rank Proof of residence within the notified forest area, issued by the concerned Tehsildar (for candidates residing within a forest area notified across Karnataka state) Proof of date of birth (birth certificate/school leaving certificate/Aadhaar card) Caste certificate in the prescribed format, for candidates claiming category reservation Non-Creamy Layer certificate (valid for 5 years from issue), for candidates belonging to Category-I/IIA/IIB/IIIA/IIIB claiming reservation One valid photo ID proof - any one of Aadhaar Card, Passport, Driving Licence, PAN Card, a

Candidates must attend every stage of the recruitment process (interview/performance test) at their own expense; no travel allowance is admissible. Only candidates possessing all original and self-attested documents relevant to their claimed category/reservation, along with the required proof, will be considered further; incomplete, illegible, or incorrect information will result in the application being treated as unfit at the preliminary stage itself. The applicant is solely and fully responsible for the accuracy of all information and documents furnished with the application. Male candidates are considered for the physical/performance test for elephant handling; female and third-gender candidates are considered per the same standard applied to male candidates for the performance test, as stated in the notification. Candidates found submitting forged documents, false information, or en