Kumki elephants deployed in BRT Tiger Reserve search after fatal attack
Two kumki elephants have joined the Forest Department's search for the wild animal that killed a 65-year-old man in Sanegala village, BRT Tiger Reserve.
Two trained kumki elephants from the Dubare Elephant Camp have been pressed into service by the Forest Department as it continues its search for the wild animal that killed a 65-year-old man in Sanegala village, inside the Biligiri Ranganatha Swamy Temple (BRT) Tiger Reserve in Chamarajanagar district.
The victim, Basavanna, was a resident of Badagalapura village in Chamarajanagar taluk. He died in the suspected wild animal attack on September 14 while working in his fields.
In a statement issued on Sunday, the Deputy Conservator of Forests and Director of the BRT Tiger Reserve said the two kumki elephants had been brought in to assist the operation.
Following a post-mortem examination at the Chamarajanagar district hospital, the body was handed over to the family. On September 15, C. Puttarangashetty, the Minister in charge of Chamarajanagar district, visited Badagalapura along with senior Forest Department officials and presented a compensation cheque of ₹5 lakh from the BRT Tiger Foundation Fund to the victim's next of kin. Chamarajanagar MP Sunil Bose also visited the site of the incident and the victim's village.
According to the statement, camera traps and cages have been installed near the site and in the surrounding forest areas, and these are inspected every morning with the findings reported to senior officials.
A swab sample taken from the body and a hair sample recovered from the site have been sent to the Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB) in Hyderabad for analysis.
Searches have been carried out during the day and at night using a thermal drone and sniffer dogs across the forest areas near the site, as well as fallow agricultural land and government hillocks in neighbouring villages. Posters have been put up and announcements made through loudspeakers in nearby villages, warning residents to exercise caution and avoid venturing out.
Daily patrols are also being conducted in forest areas, canals, ponds and stone quarries with the help of trained tribal members, looking for pugmarks and other signs of the animal.
The statement added that no signs or traces of the animal responsible for the attack have been found so far, and that the search operation is continuing.