BENGALURU: A wild tusker that had been frequenting the famous Gopalaswamy Hill temple in Chamarajnagar district for the past week is being fed leftover Prasadam (food), inviting criticism from wildlife activists. The temple priest says that “god himself has come in the form of this pachyderm to accept the offerings”.
Violating both wildlife norms and safety of the devotees, the 40-45-year-old massive tusker is being fed jaggery and coconut-based food items near the temple which is situated on a hill inside Bandipur Tiger Reserve.
Wildlife activist Ram Prasad said, “How can anybody offer food to a wild animal which is prohibited under Wildlife Protection Act under Section 27 (sub Section 4)? Forest officials should take strict action against the temple priest and see to it that nobody feeds wild animals.”
Wildlife expert G Veeresh said, “Gopalaswamy Hill Range officials should be alert and send the animal back to the forest. Unfortunately, the priest and a few devotees are talking nonsense - that the elephant is going around the temple praying to God. All this should be stopped immediately by forest officials.”
Ambady Madhav, DCF, Bandipur Tiger Reserve, told Express, “We have warned the priest and asked him not to feed the elephant. All food items generated at Gopalaswamy temple have to be disposed of properly so as not to attract any wild animals. For the safety of people, we are thinking of erecting an electric fence down below the temple so that elephants and other wild animals do not come here.”