COIMBATORE: Wildlife activists raised strong objections against people, including farmers, for allegedly chasing Bahubali, the wild elephant, into the forest by throwing firecrackers at him. This comes after a video went viral on social media in which the people are seen throwing rockets and 100wala crackers at the elephant to chase him off farmland.
The animal seems angry and is seen walking towards the people even as the forest department staff are seen waiting nearby in a forest vehicle.
Activists said that the animal's mood might have changed and it could have attacked the farmers as they were angering the animal and standing close to the jumbo.
However, forest department sources said that people threw crackers at the animal only because it continued to damage their crops.
The forest range officer of Mettupalayam S Palaniraja said that though the staff were standing nearby, they were unable to prevent the people from chasing the elephant as they would turn against the department. "People, including farmers, used crackers to divert the animal instead of seeking help from the department despite us providing them with awareness," he further said, adding that the department is planning to create awareness among residents to avoid escalating man-animal conflict in the coming days.
It may be recalled that Bahubali is being monitored round-the-clock as the Tamil Nadu forest department has decided to capture the animal to fix a radio collar on it. However, the operation has been temporarily suspended reportedly because the animal seems stressed.