Captive jumbo kills mahout in MTR camp

COIMBATORE: A mahout was trampled to death by a captive elephant at Abhayaranyam elephant camp in Mudumalai on Friday morning. Balan, 54, was attacked when he finished feeding the elephant Masini at 9 am.

“Though Balan attempted to escape, the elephant attacked again and also trampled him. Shocked on seeing the incident, other mahouts brought sixteen-year-old Masini under control by raising loud noise,” said an official.

Balan was rushed to Gudalur Government Hospital. However, he had succumbed to injuries by then.

This is the second incident of death caused by Masini, which attacked its mahout Gajendran at Samayapuram Mariamman temple in Trichy in 2018. The elephant was named Masini after it was rescued as a 15 day old calf. It was abandoned by its herd near ‘Masiniamman’ temple in Kargudi Range in Mudumalai in the year 2006. It was nursed in Mudumalai until 2015, when the elephant was gifted to Samayapuram temple by then CM J Jayalalithaa. But it was brought back after the elephant developed behavioural changes due to habitat change.