‘Summer, musth stage, overcrowding trigger elephants’

Experts pointed out that the summer season, coupled with the continuous flow of tourists, could have triggered the incident.

A tussle at the Dubare Elephant Camp in Coorg between two elephants resulting in death of a woman from Chennai and an elephant has raised concerns about the psychological stress of wild animals in continuous contact with the people. 

The two elephants were identified as Jayamarthanda and Kanjan, while the former died in the fight.

The experts pointed out that the summer season along with continuous flow of tourists might have led to the trigger. 

Suggesting that a move beyond anthropocentric view is necessary, Dr Chaithanya Sridhar, a trans-species Psychologist, said, “There is peak tourist season and everyone wants to bathe and feed these animals but the people who are doing these activities, how would they feel it was done to them? As humans we have lost the dignity of the wild.” 

“Kanjan was captured in Hassan Forest, it is not born in captivity, so it is wilder. Both the elephants were bulls and they do not usually like having people in their space. We are taking a huge risk with letting people near such animals.” 

Furthermore, the elephants have stages in life, especially in the young adulthood called the mauth stages, that increase testosterone and aggression in them. 

Explaining the phenomena of the wild, Sandeep Menon Secretary, Wasi (Wildlife association of South India) said, “Elephant herds are led by female elephants in the wild and once they reach the adolescence age, they are usually left out of the herd and all such left out male animals form a group of their own.”

“However, when a male reaches mauth stage and a female elephant comes by, the male elephants fight amongst themselves to establish dominance and breed with the female. They are generally very aggressive during the stage and in captive situations, such elephants are briefly locked to prevent any advert situations,” he further said.

Elephants are territorial animals by nature and by putting them in a situation that would otherwise not exist in the wild, is a disaster waiting to happen, the experts note. 

Arun Kumar, Member of Animal Welfare Board, said, “The protocol is usually to follow a 20 feet distance from wildlife animals. The animals in the camp are not completely captivated, they are semi wild and their behaviour is often unpredictable. Especially giant animals should not be used for recreational purposes.”

Pushing for closure of tourism with wildlife animals, Sanjay Gubbi, a wildlife biologist, said, “We must keep wildlife away from excessive tourism. Our tourism activities are often overcrowded. In such situations, whether it is tourists or elephant mahouts, it becomes very difficult to follow regulations and proper protocols.”