HASSAN: A two-hour operation on Monday culminated in the safe rescue of a
tusker stuck in a slush-filled pond at
Madhihalli of
Alur taluk, Hassan district.
According to
K Harish, assistant conservator of forests, Hassan division, the tusker, around 12 years old, may have fallen into the pond on Sunday evening. "It was trumpeting through the night. As this area is infamous for animal-human conflict, we've advised locals not to venture out of their homes at night. Early Monday morning, they rushed to the pond where they found the elephant trying to come out of the slush and alerted us. We rushed there with a
JCB," he said.
He added that the tusker was not violent. "Whenever it tried to come out, it slipped deeper due to the slush and mud. It needed some support, tried to grab the JCB but failed. To minimise the injuries, we created a slope which enabled the tusker to come out. It immediately ran away and it's now in the Dobbabetta forest area of the Alur range," he said.
Locals said the tusker may have slipped into the pond while trying to drink water. "This tusker is often seen in the vicinity," said Anjaneya Kumar, a resident of the village.
