A video of the visibly agitated elephant being shot at in the head by men wearing forest department fatigues had gone viral on social media.
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“Hodi, hodi, hodi (shoot, shoot, shoot)” — a viral video that showed an elephant being shot at in Karnataka’s Bandipur forest reserve created a big uproar among wildlife activists and enthusiasts on Wednesday. The incident took place in Hediyalla range, Bandipur tiger reserve and the forest department has told ANI that the video was shot on Saturday, March 7. The video shows a visibly agitated elephant running towards a jeep, where men wearing forest department fatigues are seen in the car’s rearview mirror, laughing and firing a shot at the elephant. As the elephant nears the jeep, a person is heard shouting, “Hodi maga, hodi maga (hit son, hit).” A shot is fired at the elephant’s head, making it falter for a second and turn away. The elephant trumpets in panic and falls over on the bumpy ground, and the men are heard laughing as the jeep reverses away from the elephant. Officials say that the shots were fired to keep the animal within the fenced enclosure, and the gun was not making steady shots as they were going on bumpy terrain. Luckily, the shot missed the tusker and the elephant did not suffer any injuries. After the video went viral, Bandipur field director, T Balchandra, told ANI that a temporary staff member who fired at the elephant, identified as Rahim, has been suspended. Umesh, a permanent employee of the Karnataka Forest Department, who reportedly took the video, is also facing an investigation. "This was a rapid response team and they were trying to chase the animal back into the forest. They saw that the elephant was trying to escape and so the men said that they were trying to fire in the air but missed and shot closer to the elephant," Punati Sridhar, Principal Chief Conservator of Forests, told TNM. Sources told TNM that Rahim has been suspended since the shot should have been fired in the air and not so close to the elephant. Umesh is facing action for just shooting a video and not doing his duty on the ground. Wildlife activists have slammed the forest department and have expressed shock over the incident. “How can these people shoot at the very animals they are supposed to protect? And they are laughing at the animal and mocking when it was squealing in distress. We are shocked and disgusted! We will make sure that the Forest department takes action. This is the second incident within a week, where people from the forest department are tormenting elephants,” wildlife and environmental activist Vijay Nishanth said. Environment activist Joseph Hoover told TNM, “The incident could have been avoided. In the melee, the disturbed tusker could have suffered a bullet injury or broken its leg while almost tripping near the mound. There are lessons to be learnt from this incident.” The forest department has defended the action and added that the state has 15 such teams around Karnataka to do this work. "We also have teams at Sakleshpur, and Nagarhole to manage the elephants so that they don't come out of the forest. This is routine work. Usually, staffers use air guns or crackers to frighten them and send them back. On social media, people are sharing this video and saying that staffers are entertaining themselves by shooting at the elephant. But they usually shout to send it back, this is their duty. I don't see it as out of the blue. Perhaps those sharing such false information on social media should come and spend a day with the reserve officials," Punati Sridhar said. Also read: Remembering S Manikandan, Karnataka IFS officer who lived for and died in the forest
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