Mandya, July 21 :-
Two elephants - one tusker and the other a female elephant - had a mighty fall from a 350 feet cliff and met a gory death at the popular Gaganachukki Water Falls in Shivasamudra (Karnataka) on Sunday.
According to Deputy Conservator of Forests (DCF), Mandya Mr Vinay Kumar, the two elephants were pushed down by the onrushing waters fro the cliff into the gorge at the time of crossing the gorge . “A herd of 10 elephants were spotted on Saturday near the island of Darga area in Shivasamudra. And definitely, these two elephants must have been from the same herd. The elephants have come from Danagur State Reserve Forest of Mallavalli range,” Vinay said
Despite a marathon 12-hour effort, the foresters have failed to recover the bodies of the two elephants.. “As, the elephants fell into a deep gorge and because of the powerful water currents , it is nearly impossible to fish out the bodies. Added to it the Krishnaraja Sagar dam authorities are expected to release water in a couple days, which would make it much more difficult”, the official explained.
“At the moment , we can’t even clearly spot the elephants due to heavy water. We need to wait till the water level recedes in the falls or there are chances that the bodies would be washed away to outer periphery from the gorge by water force”, the DCF quoted.
Some of the tourists who visited this spot were seen mourning the tragic death of elephants. Some locals were of the opinion that the two elephants fell from cliff on Saturday night itself. Mr Vinay Kumar said that forest guards would be deployed in the vulnerable spots to drive away the remaining herd of seven elephants from the area to forest to avoid further loss of wildlife.