MYSURU: A tusker that ventured out from Nagarahole forest kept forest officers on their toes for three hours and created panic among residents in a border village Boodanuru in HD Kote early on Monday.
The tusker literally played hide-and-seek by returning to the village after it was driven into the forest by villagers earlier in the day. The elephant was first sighted at 6.30 am by the villagers on the streets of Boodanuru which has about 200 families. It is a border village in Chakkodanahalli Grama panchayath and is located some 5 km away from the borders of Nagarahole forest.
The adult tusker was seen walking gently on the streets and remained calm despite villagers trying to drive the pachyderm using unconventional ways like whistling and pelting stones.
Luckily, the tusker hasn’t harmed anyone and caused damage to the properties in the village. Three hut like structures erected in front of the houses and shops got damaged while it was moving and a calf got injured in its leg while trying to run away from the elephant.
Shivaraj, a shopkeeper, where the elephant was first noticed said, the tusker was sighted as early as 6.30 am and finally it was driven away around 9 am.
Deputy Conservator of Forests (Wildlife) V Karikalan, who is incharge of Nagarahole Forests, said foresters were successful in driving back the elephant back into the woods after three long hours of operation. It has not caused much damage or injured any individual.
Night patrolling
Two special teams have been formed to prevent the tusker from coming back into human habitation, the DCF stated. Personnel will stay overnight in the village to prevent the elephant from coming back.
Some two months back the tusker was sighted in the village and this time it has come back again. Measures would be taken to ensure safety of villagers by keeping a team in the village as precaution, Karikalan stated.
