The animal, which trampled him, is believed to be the leader of the herd. This was the third attack on human habitation in the last 45 days, but this is the first time a human casualty has been reported.
A herd of nine elephants charged Kinnally hamlet in Alur taluk of Hassan district late on Thursday evening and trampled a 56-year-old farm labourer, Jayaram, to death.
The animal, which trampled him, is believed to be the leader of the herd. This was the third attack on human habitation in the last 45 days, but this is the first time a human casualty has been reported.
Jayaram, who was returning home after work, ran into the herd of elephants, which attacked him without provocation. The villagers later took his body to Hassan, placed it before the deputy commissioner’s office and demanded immediate compensation to his family and relocate the elephants to some other forest.
“The victim was the only breadwinner of the family of four, which had no other source of livelihood at this juncture,” said Somashekar, a villager. He also apprehended that there were a few elephant herds that were frequenting Kinnally, as well as the surrounding areas in Alur taluk. These pachyderms posed a big safety threat to the people, he said.
Ambadi Madhav, Hassan district forest officer said, “These elephants migrate from the east to west corridor. There are about three herds each comprising more than six animals of which the biggest herd had nine. They were moving in and out of their habitats in Kodagu district.
“We studied their movements in which we found that they unsettled from their habitats following expansion of human settlement on their migration route. The villagers have given representation to catch and send them to the elephant reserves, but the central wildlife rules insist on conservation of elephants in their natural habitats. Along with habitat loss, they also lose their food reserves like bamboo groves and grazing fields,” said Ambadi Madhav.
According to the additional deputy commissioner of Hassan district P Subramanium, the government has already announced a compensation of Rs2 lakhs which will be delivered to the bereaved family soon. Experts in the forest department said, destruction of elephant habitats and fragmentation of elephant migration paths were happening rapidly in Kodagu, Dakshina Kannada and Hassan districts which are located close to the Western Ghats. This was due to the various projects including power plants, highway development, river projects and deforestation.
“These elephants are being chased from every corner by human encroachers, which in turn attack their colonies. One of the important elements of elephant habitats is water resource, which becomes the first casualty when humans encroach into them,” said Niren Jain, conservationist and convener, Kudremukh Wild Life Foundation.
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