The recent incident in which a wild bull elephant entered a human habitat near Iritty here and caused injuries to Forest Department personnel and the death of a domestic animal was due to the use of drone camera, according to an animal enthusiast.
In his complaint to the Divisional Forest Officer (Flying Squad) here, Manoj Madhavan, a member of a group that campaigns for the prevention of cruelty against elephants, said the animal had entered the Haji Road area at Vellakode after getting panicked by a drone camera deployed by the Forest Department to track the movement of elephants. The incident occurred on September 10.
The wild elephant had gone berserk then, overturning a department vehicle and killing a domestic animal. Incidentally, the video captured by the camera was extensively circulated on social media.
According to the complaint, the animal was petrified by the sound of the drone camera, leaving it panicked. However, it calmed down once the camera was stopped and returned to the forest later. The complainant urged the department to conduct an inquiry into the incident and take necessary steps as the locality is on the fringes of the Aralam Wildlife Sanctuary. He also demanded that the use of drone cameras in the area be suspended.
