Two from T’gana fined for taking selfie with wild jumbo in Hasanur

COIMBATORE: Two men from Telangana, who took selfies with a wild elephant in Hasanur in Sathyamangalam, were slapped with a penalty of Rs 20,000 by the forest department.

Officials said Dileep Kumar, 42, and Shyam Prasad, 31; both hailing from Nizampet had stopped their car on spotting a wild elephant along the roadside in Hasanur on Wednesday.

“They got down and went dangerously closer to the wild elephant to take a selfie. A visibly irritated elephant began to charge at them. However, the duo managed to get into the car and sped away,” said an official.

A team of forest staff from Hasanur range tracked them down and slapped a penalty of Rs 10,000 each for causing disturbance to the wild elephant.

In another development, the Coimbatore forest department has suspended the operation to tranquilise the wild elephant ‘Bahubali’ for treatment as it was found to be in good health and consumes normally.

Therefore, the two kumkis, Waseem and Vijay, which were deployed in Mettupalayam over the last several days, were to be taken back to Mudumalai Tiger Reserve (MTR).

“While Waseem was sent on Thursday early morning hours, another kumki will be sent by Friday,” said an official. A team of veterinarians and forest department staff who monitored ‘Bahubali’ decided to suspend the operation to tranquilise it as the animal had recovered completely.