MYSURU: A video clip where forest guards were seen firing cartridges that produce sound and smoke to prevent a tusker from crossing a rail barricade on the forest borders has gone viral.
Based on the terrain-the Elephant Proof Trench (ETP) and rail barricades-it is believed that the incident has taken place between Hediyala and Omkara range in Bandipur Tiger Reserve. However, the date and the time of the incident has not been confirmed yet. In the video clip shot by one of the forest officials in the jeep, a guard was seen shooting at a tusker which was trying to cross the rail barricade.
The video shows the forest staff, who were patrolling on jeep, stopping the vehicle at a distance as they notice the tusker trying to cross the barricade.
The elephant, which got annoyed due to the presence of the staff, tries to attack the jeep which was on the other side of the barricade. As the tusker nears the jeep, one of the staffers with the gun fires from the double-barrelled at the tusker. Due to the sound, the elephant returns to the forest by crossing the Elephant Proof Trench. Wildlife activists say that it is a dummy cartridge which produces only sound to scare elephants. Bandipur Tiger Reserve director T Balachandra told TOI that the anti-depredation squad was trying to chase the tusker back to the wild.
"The tusker was moving from one place to another, making it difficult to chase it back to wild. To scare the tusker, one of the guards fired a shot in a close range. The inclination of the gun should be towards the sky, but as the jeep tilted during the move, the gun was pointing towards the tusker. There was no harm to the tusker as it was used only to scare the elephant," he said.
Based on the terrain-the Elephant Proof Trench (ETP) and rail barricades-it is believed that the incident has taken place between Hediyala and Omkara range in Bandipur Tiger Reserve. However, the date and the time of the incident has not been confirmed yet. In the video clip shot by one of the forest officials in the jeep, a guard was seen shooting at a tusker which was trying to cross the rail barricade.
The video shows the forest staff, who were patrolling on jeep, stopping the vehicle at a distance as they notice the tusker trying to cross the barricade.
The elephant, which got annoyed due to the presence of the staff, tries to attack the jeep which was on the other side of the barricade. As the tusker nears the jeep, one of the staffers with the gun fires from the double-barrelled at the tusker. Due to the sound, the elephant returns to the forest by crossing the Elephant Proof Trench. Wildlife activists say that it is a dummy cartridge which produces only sound to scare elephants. Bandipur Tiger Reserve director T Balachandra told TOI that the anti-depredation squad was trying to chase the tusker back to the wild.
"The tusker was moving from one place to another, making it difficult to chase it back to wild. To scare the tusker, one of the guards fired a shot in a close range. The inclination of the gun should be towards the sky, but as the jeep tilted during the move, the gun was pointing towards the tusker. There was no harm to the tusker as it was used only to scare the elephant," he said.
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