Wild elephants come in search of their dead clan

Mysore, Nov 10 (UNI) In an act of great bon homie, herds of wild elephants, numbering over 100, roamed the human habitats of Nanjangud and H D Kote Taluks in this district where four from their clan were buried after they were found killed since last week.

The 'disturbed' groups of pachyderms were driven back to the forests after a great toil by the forest department personnel today.

According to forest department sources the groups of elephants had charged at the villagers in some places before they were driven them back to the Chikkadevara Betta forests.

Four elephants which 'intruded' into agricultural fields during the last week were found killed after they came into contact with electric fencing put up unauthorisedly by the farmers on the fringes of the forest.

The human and wild elephant encounters have been common in the area known for the biggest congregation of wild Asian elephants due to the shrinking habitat.

The villagers said that the restless animals turned up in the area following the scent the dead elephants buried in the vicinity last week. The herds moved in the same area for the last three to four days where the elephants' bodies was been cremated.

However, the forest officials maintained that jumbos could have developed a taste for the standing crops of for paddy, ragi and banana grown in plenty in this area and stayed back for the same reason.

This is the second incident that the large number of elephants have encountered humans in the two taluks since last one week.

Disturbed over the frequent incidents of unnatural deaths of at least 25 elephants during the last six months in the biosphere, the Karnataka High Court had taken up a suo moto case and asked the government to tender an explanation. The court also It had also came down heavily against the forest department for its inability to stop the killings.

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