‘Reverse drive’ saves forest officials from jumbo

Shyam Sundar Vattam | NT

The video of a lone tusker chasing a jeep carrying forest personnel on patrol duty in Bandipur National Park has gone viral.

The jeep driver, Srikanta drove the jeep in the reverse direction for over a kilometre to escape the jumbo. The incident occurred on Tiger Road in Bandipur Tiger Reserve in Chamarajagar district.

According to information reaching here, four forest personnel were going in a jeep for patrol duty when the wild jumbo suddenly emerged from the nearby bushes and started advancing towards them.

The driver retained his calm unperturbed by the sudden appearance of the jumbo and drove the jeep backwards till the jumbo stopped chasing them on the rugged forest track. The timely and wise action taken by the driver to escape the marauding jumbo has been widely appreciated in social media.