Video grab of the wild jumbo entering Gundlupet town.
Credit: Special arrangement
Gundlupet (Chamarajanagar dist): A wild elephant (jumbo) strayed into Gundlupet town and damaged a motorbike and roamed on the roads for a while, during the wee hours of Thursday. It has been captured on the CCTV cameras, installed at a house in the town.
The wild jumbo walked on Marigudi Beedhi in Gundlupet town and damaged a motorbike parked on the road. This has been recorded on the CCTV camera. The movement of the wild jumbo on the street has created panic among the residents here.
The Forest department acted swiftly and a team, led by ACF Suresh, and RFO Shivakumar, traced the footprint of the jumbo that was sighted at Gundlupet town and used thermal drones to observe its movements. They confirmed that the jumbo was around Beguru and Yeriyuru villages and monitored its movement. The jumbo then moved towards Heggavadi hillock under Kundukere range. The Forest department was successful in driving the jumbo into the forest.
RFO of Gundlupet buffer range Shivakumar said, it is not confirmed from where the wild jumbo strayed from. The jumbo was first sighted in the town and later camped near the forest at Heggavadi. It has been driven into the forest, he said.