The dramatic saga of a herd of 13 migrating elephants, which created panic on Bangalore’s outskirts, concluded on Monday night as the Forest Department’s trackers succeeded — in their second attempt — to drive the animals towards Bannerghatta National Park using firecrackers and shotguns.
However, this could not be achieved before two more people were injured in Anekal and Sarjapur, the elephants’ final stop. While A. Shyam (32) was grievously injured in an attack at Dommasandra village in Sarjapur, Muniraju, in adjacent Anekal, suffered fractures when an elephant hurled him to the ground.
In a daylong operation on Monday, the Forest Department first confined the animals to a forest patch near Huskur tank in Sarjapur. By 3.30 p.m. the department used crackers and shotguns to drive the elephants in the direction of Bannerghatta National Park or the Hosur forest range. However 5 km into the drive, the herd and trackers encountered traffic on National Highway 7 and turned back on the trail and returned to Huskur.
The department was more successful in its second attempt, and by 9 p.m., had driven the herd to National Highway 7 (Bangalore-Hosur) again, this time ensuring that traffic had been blocked.
The herd’s saga began Saturday when it entered Malur taluk in Kolar, triggering much public commotion. Three people died in the encounter. The animals then moved to Hoskote (Bangalore Rural) on Sunday where a journalist was trampled to death when he tried to approach them to get a photograph.
According to the Forest Department, the herd is part of a group of 60 spotted crossing the Hosur border a few weeks ago.