MYSURU: An elephant that tried to scale a barricade set up by the Forest Department at Veeranahosahalli area in Nagarhole Forest Division suffocated to death on Saturday when it slipped and was caught between the rails of the barricade. The incident occurred around 5 am when this elephant and another which were chased by villagers in Bharatwadi were returning to the forest. While one tusker managed to negotiate the barrier, the other one got stuck and died. This happened at a point which marks the beginning of the Nagarhole forest, officials said.
“Our guards noticed the elephant around 6 am and they tried to push it from the fence. But it breathed its last,” said S R Prasanna Kumar, Assistant Conservator of Forests, Hunsur Sub-division.
The barricade, made out of discarded railway tracks, was at a height of 11.5 feet which might have led the elephant to believe that it could be scaled. According to the ACF, the post-mortem revealed that the elephant’s diaphragm was constricted due to the barricade and it died out of suffocation. The deceased elephant was cremated by the forest officials.
According to sources familiar with the matter, the elephants used to regularly stray in the area and destroy crops. Recently the farmers from the area had complained to the forest authorities and on Saturday morning, it is believed that both elephants were chased away from fields nearby and were returning to the forest.
The practice of installing these barricades, which extend over 70km at sensitive points in Bandipur and Nagarhole, has been criticised by wildlife activists who said that it should be discontinued. Speaking to TNIE, Chief Wildlife Warden C Jayram supported the measure and said, “The incident at Veeranahosahalli happened as this is an old barricade with the height being 11.5 ft. We will now increase the height by another 2-3 ft so that elephants cannot scale it.”