BENGALURU: In a shocking incident, three camp elephants — Sarala , Ganesh and Balarama — were allegedly used for ‘filming a documentary’ in Nagarahole Tiger Reserve sans any permission.
However, forest officials — denying any such occurrence — say some passersby on motorbikes on the busy road may have got down to take pictures of the pachyderms. According to wildlife activists, three camp elephants were used for filming along with two motorbikes on February 13. The registration number of one of the motorbikes was KA 01 HX 4007.
According to activists, a few people staying in a private guesthouse in Kothanalli village near Anthrasanthe Wildlife Range visited the camp and used the elephants for filming purpose. They may have paid money to the caretakers and involved the elephants which is against the prevailing norms, they said. In 2008, guests from the same private guesthouse were caught in the middle of the forest in Metikuppe Wildlife Range and the then ACF had detained them and levied a huge fine, the activists added.
However, Range Forest Officer of Antarsanthe Wildlife Range Vinay denied any such filming activity. He said some passersby on their motorbikes — attracted by the sight of the elephants which are now stationed in a revenue land near Taraka Dam — may have taken pictures of them.“Because of tigers straying into nearby villages from the Antarsanthe Range, the elephants were brought from Mathigodu camp to help us drive back the big cats. This is a heavy traffic area on the Kerala border ... there is frequent movement of people from Bomankatte to Tarakatte and some people on motorbikes may have got down to take pictures. People are habituated to take photos. Otherwise, no permission has been given by the CWW to film any camp elephants,” he said.
The RFO stressed, “The elephants were stationed near Taraka Dam on the advice of the mahouts as they are in musth and this would have created problems to the villages located on the right side of the dam. In fact, they are very next to my quarters and nobody can film at this place without being seen. The place is secure and is just 2 km from the ACF’s office. The elephants have been here for 25 days now and no such activity has taken place.”
Countering this, activists say the forest officers either have no control over their field staff or mahouts who are involved in this filming activity as it is clearly evident from the pictures with the staff in the background.