Victim was a cook and did not have expertise to escape wild elephant attack, say colleagues

Mysore/Mysuru: A forest watcher was trampled to death by a wild elephant yesterday at Nagarahole Tiger Reserve while he was on patrolling duty along with other team members.

One more watcher has been injured in the incident that occurred at Doddalli Beat near Gadde Haadi.  An elephant suddenly appeared and trampled him to death. Other watchers drove away the tusker and recovered the body of the forest watcher.

The deceased has been identified as 52-year-old Gururaj. At around 2 pm yesterday, he along with other watchers Chandru and Ashok were on regular beat at Doddalli. A tusker suddenly appeared from behind the thick bushes and attacked Gururaj. The tusker was in ‘musth’ and it flung Gururaj onto the ground and gored him with its tusk. 

So violent was the attack that Gururaj’s stomach was ruptured and the intestines came out. Ashok, in his attempt to save his colleague, too sustained injuries. The other two guards managed to shout loudly and scare away the elephant. The tusker vanished into the thickets. 

Later, with the help of tribals living at Gadde Haadi, Chandru shifted Gururaj and Ashok to the Nagarahole Range Forest Office that was just 200 metres away from the place where the incident took place. After first aid to Gururaj and Ashok at Kutta Government Hospital, they were being shifted to Mysuru. 

Gururaj, however, breathed his last on the way to the hospital. He was a resident of Kalkunike near Hunsur. He joined the Department on contract basis in 2001 and his service was regularised in 2004. Gururaj was a good chef and used to cook food for guests and VIPs who come to the Forest Guest House at Nagarahole Headquarters. He leaves behind his wife and two children.

Watcher group had no guard accompanying

As per Forest Department rules, if a group of watchers go on patrolling, they must be accompanied by a guard who has a rifle with him. Watchers are not entitled to possess a firearm. Even the rifles that are given to guards are old and out-dated and it is impossible to load the rifle with a bullet and fire when a wild animal attacks.

Department sources admit that the group of watchers who went on patrolling yesterday along with Gururaj did not have a guard accompanying. Moreover, Gururaj was a cook and he was put on regular forest beat recently and he did not have the skill to escape a wild elephant attack, his colleagues say. 

A watcher has to typically walk 10 to 15 kilometres per day inside the jungle and it was difficult for Gururaj to do such a feat and he had pleaded with officials to put him back as a cook, his friends and colleagues at the forest guest house say.  

Forest Department officials, however, clarified that all those who have been appointed as watchers must have experience inside the forest too and a watcher cannot forever perform the duties of a cook.