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Elephant dies of electrocution in Chikkmagaluru
A 40-year-old elephant, which had been causing menace in human habitats for past several months, was electrocuted in a coffee estate in Kere Haklu village in Aldur forest range in Chikkmagaluru district on Saturday night, people familiar with the matter said.
A 40-year-old elephant, which had been causing menace in human habitats for past several months, was electrocuted in a coffee estate in Kere Haklu village in Aldur forest range in Chikkmagaluru district on Saturday night, people familiar with the matter said.
The forest officials said that the elephant had killed three people in the Aldur range in the last eight months and the villagers had been urging the authorities to translocate the elephant.
Chikkamagaluru DCF Ramesh Babu said: “The elephant came to the village in search of food on Saturday. It entered the coffee estate of Gudadur Sandeep and attempted to pluck a jackfruit. In the attempt, it came in contact with a live electric wire passing beside a tree, killing the elephant on the spot. I have visited the spot and conducted Mahazar; we have registered a case and are investigating.”
He further said that a proposal had been sent to higher authorities to capture the tusker but it got killed.
The elephant had killed Anand Poojary (53), a supervisor at a coffee estate, on May 5 in Aldur Range. On August 3, 2023, it killed a farmer identified as Kini (38) in Kesuvina Haklu village in Aldur, and on October 18, the same elephant killed an estate worker named Meena (45).
The man-elephant conflict has been escalating, particularly in the Aldur range in the district. The department had translocated a rogue elephant in November 2023, which was causing menace to the villagers.
“Wild elephants have made our lives unbearable as crops worth thousands of rupee and plants were destroyed in a single night,” Basave Gowda, a coffee grower in Kasuvina Haklu, said..
“ We have been demanding forest officials translocate four-five elephants, which are menacing daily. Due to the drought in the district, the wild elephants are entering human habitats in search of fodder and water. We have staged protests against the menace many times, but officials and elected representatives did not take concrete steps to check menace,” he added.
