Environmentalist Col Muttanna injured in elephant attack

A wild elephant attacked Colonel Cheppudira Muttanna at his coffee plantation in Attur, near Gonikoppa, on Wednesday.

Col Muttanna had been to his plantation on Wednesday morning at around 10 am when a wild elephant confronted him all of a sudden.

While trying to escape, Muttanna fell down and the elephant walked away after stamping on Muttanna's right leg, injuring him seriously. Muttanna called his wife over the phone and informed her about the incident.

Muttanna's wife and plantation labourers rushed him to Gonikoppa hospital. After being provided first aid, he has been shifted to a hospital in Mysuru, for advanced treatment.

Col Muttanna is an environmentalist and the son of former chief minister of the then Kodagu state, C M Poonacha. He has been fighting for the conservation of wild animals.

Ponnampet RFO Rajappa said that there is no danger to Muttanna's life. The expenses towards Muttanna's treatment will be borne by the government.