In an increasing man–animal conflict, a youth was trampled to death by a wild elephant on Thursday on the outskirts of Bengaluru. The regional forest department officials have come across a body of a youngster in his twenties at Gangenapura in Nelamangala taluk of Bengaluru Rural district, on Friday morning. The victim has been identified as Guruprasad, and preliminary investigations say that the death might have happened on Thursday night.
Recently the Karnataka forest department has captured two rogue elephants in this region and this incident witness to the human casualty in an increased conflict situation. Even though the forest department is making efforts to reduce the conflicts, the shrinking space for animals has increased the conflict and also casualties of both humans and animals.
According to Nelamangala forest officer Nagaraj they had cautioned the villagers around Nelamangala and Magadi about the elephant capture operation that started on Monday. The forest officials say that they had warned the villagers not to venture out of their house during night.
The official said though they had captured two wild tuskers, there were other elephants from the herd, might have attacked. According to preliminary report the youth was sleeping in an agricultural land in the fringes of the forest.
In another related development Karnataka Government will soon set up an expert committee to inquire into the recurring deaths of tigers and elephants in various protected areas of Karnataka. In the last 20 days, four tigers and four elephants have died leaving many un answered questions about conservation in the state.
Forest, Environment and Ecology Minister Ramanath Rai said a committee comprising experts from various fields would be set up to look into the issue. During 2016 the State has witnessed 17 tigers death due to various reasons. In December alone, four tigers, including a cub, were killed in Bhadravati, Bandipur and Nagarhole reserve forests. For the past 25 days four elephants died, sending shock waves among wildlife activists.
Recently a tiger cub was found dead in the Nagarahole forest area which has one of the highest densities of tigers in the country. This is the 10th tiger death reported from Nagarahole this year and 17th in the State out of 93 tiger deaths reported from across the country.
The two tiger reserves Bandipur and Nagarahole together account for nearly 180 to 200 tigers which is roughly half the tiger population in the State (nearly 405 as per 2015 estimations).