Daijiworld Media Network – Puttur

Puttur, Mar 13: An incident occurred on Tuesday when a wild elephant appeared in the Mogru, Bedrodi, Neerkatte areas, causing fear among the people.

On Tuesday morning in Mogru village of Beltangady taluk, a lone tusker wandered in the Netravati river and roamed around Bedrodi, Valalu, and Neerkatte areas. While walking in the river, it basked in the sun by spraying river water on its body from its trunk.

The tusker damaged a pump shed and some banana plants in its path. The animal seems to have become separated from a group. Jaya Prakash, the zonal forest officer in Uppinangady, said that on Tuesday evening, it again moved from Neerkatte to Valali and entered the forest at night.

“Elephants straying into the forest and coming into residential areas are scared by people who try to drive them away by bursting firecrackers and creating panic. By remaining calm with elephants, even if they stray once, they will return to their original path and move forward. It is for this reason that the cooperation of the police has been sought to prevent people from approaching the elephant on Tuesday,” he said. Jaya Prakash also mentioned that the forest department has monitored the movement of elephants and created a favourable environment for the elephants to move towards the forest.