A staff of the Nandankanan zoo near Barang on the outskirts of Bhubaneswar was seriously injured after he was attacked by a female elephant on Thursday.
Arjuna Khamari alias Babuli (41), a mahaut (trainer) and employee of the zoo, had gone inside the elephant enclosure in the morning when elephant Yashoda suddenly attacked him. As Khamari cried for help, the zoo staff rushed to the spot and rescued him.Khamari, who sustained serious injuries on his waist, was rushed to the Capital Hospital in Bhubaneswar.“I had gone inside the enclosure to treat Basanti, an ailing elephant, when Yashoda suddenly attacked me with her trunk and kicked me with her leg,” Khamari told the media while undergoing treatment at the hospital.