BENGALURU: Two wild elephants drowned while crossing the backwaters of Harobele reservoir near Hulibele and Kunnur in the Sathanur forest range of Kanakapura taluk in Bengaluru South district.
The deceased elephants were male -- one was around 20 years old, while the other around 15 years old.
The elephants were trying to cross the backwaters to reach the Bannerghatta forest when their legs got entangled in aquatic weeds, preventing them from moving and leading to their drowning, a forest official said. A herd of seven elephants had come from the Bannerghatta forest area to the Tenginakallu forest.
On Friday evening, the Elephant Task Force launched an operation to drive them back toward Bannerghatta. “While crossing the Harobele backwaters, five elephants managed to reach the other side, but two got stuck in the water. Our staff began searching for them. However, after two days, local residents noticed the carcasses of the two elephants floating in the water and informed the forest department,” the officer said.
Using an earthmover, the carcasses were pulled to the shore on Sunday afternoon and sent for post-mortem examination.