Now Reading: Two elephants die in separate Kodagu incidents
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Two elephants die in separate Kodagu incidents
A male elephant that had been camping in the Bommanjikere area of Kolakeri village near Napoklu for two days died on Monday. The elephant was reportedly unwell, and a previous attempt to…
The Story in Brief
A male elephant that had been camping in the Bommanjikere area of Kolakeri village near Napoklu for two days died on Monday. The elephant was reportedly unwell, and a previous attempt to drive it away on Sunday failed. Deputy Conservator of Forests (DCF) Abhishek said the elephant appeared to have died due to illness, but the exact cause will be known after a post-mortem, which requires dragging the carcass half a kilometre from a steep agricultural field.
In a separate incident on Wednesday, a female elephant died after accidentally falling into a trench dug at a plantation in Andagove, near Suntikoppa in Kushalnagar taluk. DCF Abhishek said the elephant, aged 25-30 years, sustained severe injuries and died on the spot. A post-mortem has been conducted.
The Indian Opinion
These deaths highlight the ongoing conflict between development and wildlife in Kodagu. While one death is attributed to illness, the other is a direct result of human activity, an unfenced trench on a plantation. Neither the forest department nor local farmers appear to have taken adequate precautions. The real test will be whether the post-mortem reports lead to action: fines for unsafe trenches or better elephant-proofing of farmland. Who will pay for that?
Sources (2): deccanherald.com, deccanherald.com (2)
This story was synthesised by AI from the 2 sources linked above.
Updated: this story now draws on 2 sources.
