Hanagodu: A wild elephant that went on a rampage near Hunsur broke a portion of its tusk while goring a tractor that was parked in front of a house last night. Two tractors were damaged and not stopping at this, the tusker went to another village and damaged the front portion of a house.
The incident occurred after midnight and the elephant entered the human habitat from Veeranahosahalli Range in the Nagarahole Tiger Reserve. It managed to cross the iron Railway track barricade set up by the Forest Department and entered Muduganooru village. It damaged two tractors that were parked in front of the houses of Srinivas and Rukkesh.
It gored one tractor on the vehicle’s front portion while pushed another tractor from the house premises to the open field. In the process, a portion of one of its tusks broke and the villagers found it near one of the tractors this morning.
The tusker then headed towards Chikkahejjuru Tribal Hamlet and damaged the front portion of Koosaiah’s house. The family heard the sound in the middle of the night and were terrified. Koosaiah, his wife and two little children were sleeping inside. Fortunately, the tusker did not attack their mud house that would have collapsed due to sheer force. After the attack, the family spent a sleepless night fearing another attack.
Forest Department officials visited the spot this morning and spotted the elephant near the village boundaries on the fringes of Nagarahole National park. They then drove the tusker back into the forest. The officials, however, dismissed the incident as minor attack and denied that the pachyderm’s tusk had been broken. Villagers claim that the portion of the tusk was taken away by the Forest Department officials.
This post was published on February 14, 2021 6:26 pm