BENGALURU: A day after a tourist woman was crushed to death during a clash between two trained elephants, one of the animals also succumbed to its injuries on Tuesday, officials said.
The incident occurred at the Dubare camp in Karnataka's Kodagu district on May 18, they said.
During the fight, Marthanda sustained severe injuries to the stomach and legs and was being treated at a hospital.
However, the elephant succumbed to the injuries today, a senior forest official said.
A post-mortem is being conducted, following which it will be ascertained if there was any damage to internal organs and the exact cause of death, he said.
Karnataka Minister for Forest, Ecology and Environment Eshwar Khandre has expressed deep grief over the death of elephant Marthanda, which succumbed to injuries sustained during a fight between him and Dasara elephant Kanjan at the Dubare camp.
In his condolence message, the minister said it was "extremely tragic" that an unexpected and unimaginable incident had claimed the lives of a woman tourist and an elephant.
According to a statement from the Minister's office, Marthanda, aged 53 and weighing 4,500 kg, was captured in Alur in Hassan district in 2023.
Kanjan, aged 26, was captured near Yesalur in Hassan district in 2014 and had participated in the Dasara festivities three times.
Khandre said that instructions had been issued not to use Kanjan for the Dasara celebrations in the future.
According to officials, Tulasi (33), a tourist from Tamil Nadu, died in the incident while standing near the river and watching the elephants being bathed, they said.
They said the trained elephants, Kanjan and Marthanda, began fighting while being bathed.
Despite the mahouts' efforts to control them, Kanjan charged at Marthanda and rammed him.
As Marthanda lost balance and fell, the woman became trapped underneath the elephant and died.
However, the woman's husband and child narrowly escaped unhurt.
A video of the incident, recorded by bystanders, showed the woman's husband holding the child in one hand and attempting to rescue her, but in vain.
Following the incident, the minister directed authorities to ensure that the public maintains a safe distance from wildlife.
Subsequently, he ordered the preparation of a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) to ensure tourist safety at all elephant camps across the state and directed that tourists be allowed to watch elephant bathing only from a distance of 100 feet.