Tamil Nadu tourist killed after getting caught in tussle between two elephants

A 33-year-old tourist from Tamil Nadu died after getting caught in a tussle between two captive elephants at Dubare Elephant Camp in Kodagu district on Monday, officials said.

The tourist, J Tulasi, had arrived at the district a day earlier with her husband and son, said a senior official familiar with the matter.

The incident occurred at around noon, when tourists gathered near a lake to watch two elephants, Marthanda and Kanjan, as they were being taken for a bath as part of their daily routine.

The official said that the tussle began after Marthanda suddenly brushed against Kanjan. Despite efforts by mahouts M Ghose and Vijay Kumar 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. She was killed on the spot, they added.

“The elephant (Kanjan) was not in musth,” said deputy range forest officer Ranjan K.

Musth refers to a periodic hormonal secretion that causes increased aggression in male elephants.

The body was later shifted to the Kushalnagar taluk government hospital for a post-mortem examination and was subsequently returned to the woman’s family, said officials.

Meanwhile, state forest minister Eshwar Khandre ordered officials to frame a Standard Operating Procedure for visitor safety at elephant camps throughout the state. He also ordered a thorough probe into the matter. “Visitors should stand at least 100 feet away while watching elephants being bathed. Under no circumstances should tourists be allowed to approach elephants for selfies, photographs or bathing activities. Tourists should also not be allowed to feed elephants items such as bananas, jaggery, sugarcane or any other food by hand,” he said.

Forest officers reached the camp soon after the incident and initiated an inquiry, they said.

Dubare Elephant Camp is among Karnataka’s better-known wildlife tourism attractions and regularly draws visitors to observe elephant training and bathing activities.

(Hindustan Times)