No bullet injury to Arjuna, confirms veterinarian

Days after Dasara elephant Arjuna died in an attack by a wild tusker during a capture operation by the forest department, Nagarahole Tiger Reserve veterinarian Dr H Ramesha said he had accidentally darted another elephant Prashantha, but not Arjuna.

There were conflicting reports and mahout accounts in the wake of the famed elephant’s death, with some claiming that it sustained bullet injuries in a botched operation, resulting in the tragedy.

Dr Ramesha, who was at the centre of the operation, told DH that the rescue team had no guns with bullets but only double barrel guns with steel balls. So Arjuna could not have been hit by a bullet, he said.

Recalling the December 4 operation at KFDC grove near Dabballi Katte in Yesalur Range of Hassan division, Ramesha said a wooden piece had pierced Arjuna’s left leg and its nail had come off. Arjuna died after the violent encounter with the wild elephant, he asserted. 

Ramesha, who is grieving the loss of the 64-year-old jumbo, is also recovering from minor injuries and the trauma of the critical operation. 

“On Monday, around 11 am, we were instructed to dart and capture wild elephant Vikranth and another one that resembled ‘Karnataka Bheema’. I rode on Arjuna along with mahouts Vinu and Gundu and another employee Anila. Ranjan, the Deputy Range Forest Officer of Dubaare elephant camp, was on Prashantha. We were in a ‘gutthi’ forest with a lot of bushes. We spotted a big elephant ahead of us, but could not confirm which one it was. So we did not dart. It soon approached Arjuna and I was ready to fire the dart... but we had to aim at its thigh, shoulder or neck. Otherwise, it could die.”

“It attacked Arjuna and I almost fell off, but the mahouts pulled me up as I held on to the rope. I fired the dart while falling and it accidentally hit elephant Prashantha’s leg. Local forest watchers fired in the air after which the wild elephant moved away,” he said.

By then, the ‘kumki’ elephants had returned, he said. 

DRFO Ranjan noticed the dart on Prashantha’s leg, removed it and called Dr Ramesha to inject an antidote. They also noticed the injury on Arjuna’s leg after the wild jumbo’s attack. 

“Mahout Vinu was terrified by the fight as the wild tusker could pull him down with its trunk,” Ramesha recalled.

“Vinu came with me to inject an antidote to Prashantha. Anila, Harisha (kaavaadi of Sugreeva elephant) were sitting on Arjuna when I came back.”

A while later, the wild elephant returned and started attacking Arjuna again. “I handed over the drug to Anila. He fired the dart, but the wild elephant wasn’t sedated immediately.”

Ramesha said they got down and moved a little away from the spot to save their lives.

“Despite all our efforts, including firing in the air, we could not scare away the elephants. Arjuna suffered a severe injury near the left ear and collapsed. But we couldn’t help as the wild elephants were still around. Later, when we got to Arjuna after driving away the herd, he had stopped breathing,” Ramesha said.

During the operation, the team was to capture nine elephants and radio-collar them. Before Arjuna’s death, they managed to collar three female elephants and three tuskers. One was relocated to Bandipur and two to Nagarahole, Ramesha said.