Daijiworld Media Network - Beltangady (SP)
Beltangady, Oct 31: A three-month-old baby elephant got separated from the herd of elephants that vandalised a plantation at Kadirudyavar village in the taluk. The forest department is now trying to reunite the baby with its mother.
The wild elephants had attacked the plantation belonging to Rajendra Gowda and Raveendra Gowda at Kuchchoor on the night of Thursday October 29. They had inflicted huge loss on the plantations. When he visited the plantation on Friday morning, Rajendra Gowda saw five elephants and a baby elephant. At the sight of human beings, the herd rushed into the forest region, leaving behind the baby elephant.
The forest department staff are trying to help the baby elephant to join its mother with the support of locals. The baby was once carried into the forest area but it returned to the plantation. After the video of the baby elephant became viral, many curious onlookers came there, which impeded the operation.
The locals tried to lift the baby with ropes, and the forest officials impressed upon the people not to hurt the baby as it has to be reunited with its herd.
Beltangady range forest officer Tyagaraj, Maheem from Venoor division, Shivakumar of wildlife division, deputy range forest officer Yatindra, forest guards, Rajesh Gadiga, Panduranga Kamathi and others have continued with the operation with support of locals.
The plantation attacked by the herd is spread over two acres of land and the elephants have destroyed 200 areca nut trees, a hundred banana and one hundred coconut trees. The locals said that even though elephants have been coming here, so far they had not inflicted so much loss. Rajendra Gowda demanded compensation as he had raised the plantation with a lot of hard work.
The forest department feels that a herd of elephants had been sighted at Chibidre reserve forest recently and the herd would have attacked this place from there.
The baby elephant has been trumpeting since morning and moving around restlessly. It cannot be given other food. The forest department plans to leave it alone tilt the evening and hopes that at night its mother will come and take it away. Tyagaraj said that if the baby elephant does not join the herd, the wild elephants might attack the area again at night.