Mysuru: Tusker enters village near HD Kote taluk, triggers panic

MYSURU: A tusker that ventured out from Nagarahole forest, from Veeranahosalli range, kept forest officers on their toes for three hours on Monday and created panic among residents of Boodanuru in HD Kote taluk.
The tusker literally played hide-and-seek by returning to the village after it was driven into the forest by villagers earlier in the day. The elephant was first sighted at 6.30am by villagers on the streets of Boodanuru which has about 200 families. Boodanuru village borders Chakkodanahalli gram panchayat and is located some 5km from the borders of Nagarahole forest.
The adult tusker was seen ambling on the streets and remained calm despite villagers trying to drive it back by throwing stones and whistling loudly. The tusker damaged a couple of properties in the village.
It took 3 hours to drive jumbo into woods
Three hut-like structures erected in front of houses and some shops were damaged while it was running. A calf that was trying to escape was injured.
Shivaraj, a shopkeeper, said the tusker was sighted as early as 6.30am and was finally driven into the forest after three hours, around 9 am.
Deputy conservator of forests (Wildlife) V Karikalan said the animal did not harm any villager. Two special teams have been formed to prevent it from returning to the village. The teams will stay in the village in the night.
Two months ago, the same tusker was sighted in the village. "The team will ensure the villagers stay safe," Karikalan stated.