Tamed jumbo hurt in wild elephant attack in Dubare camp

NT Correspondent

Mysuru: A tamed elephant was injured when a wild jumbo raided the Dubare Elephant Camp in Kodagu district on Wednesday.

As a precaution, Forest Department officials have banned the entry of tourists into the elephant camp. According to information reaching here, the injured tamed elephant has been identified as Gopi. Close on the heels of the incident, forest department personnel launched an operation to drive the marauding elephant back into the forest.

Initially, they burst crackers but it refused to leave the spot. Of late, man-elephant conflict has been on the rise in Kodagu district with wild elephants attacking people and damaging crops in several villages.

The number of incidents of elephant attacks has doubled when compared to previous years. As the wild elephant attacked Gopi, he screamed for help. The mahouts and kavadis who were resting in the colony rushed to the spot and made efforts to drive back that attacker into the forest.

They then saw two more wild elephants roaming near the camp. The forest officials decided to launch a full-fledged operation to drive all three jumbos back into the forest. The injured Gopi was treated in the camp by veterinarians. Extra precaution has been taken to prevent such attacks by wild jumbos.