Coimbatore, Dec. 19
In yet another incident of irresponsible miscreants daring to irk pachyderms, some unidentified youths working in brick kilns in the Thadagam region here, have taunted a wild elephant in Thadagam and have uploaded the video on social media.
With the video of the incident that was shot by one of the youths being repeatedly shared, Forest personnel of Coimbatore Forest Division are also on the hunt to nab the miscreants.
https://www.facebook.com/News18TamilNadu/videos/1416536435121483/
In the video, a youth is trying to taunt a female elephant that was stuck inside a brick kiln hut. As the animal is unable to make it through the hut, with its roof being much lower than the animal’s height, the youth tries to go close to the elephant and irritate it.
Every time he tries to get near, the animal tries to grab him with its trunk but is stopped by the low lying roof. The roof constantly hits the animal’s head and the animal backs away. But the youth continues to taunt it.
The one who is shooting the video also asks the youth to not run far, but stay close to the animal to make the scene more daring.
The animal has apparently come out of the nearby reserve and has been roaming on patta land.
The video went viral on social media today and a team of Forest personnel were immediately sent to Thadagam to trace the youths. However, even after an intense manhunt, were not able to identify them till late evening.
According to sources, Thadagam region is experiencing such scenarios of elephants being taunted regularly. And even after repeated imposition of fines, such incidents continue. “They don’t understand that the animal that experiences such incident could turn hostile towards humans. According to the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972, it is a punishable offence to tease a wild animal” said a forest official.