Srirangapatana Dasara: Elephant gets tense, mahouts calm it

There were anxious moments when one of the three elephants taking part in Srirangapatana Dasara demonstrated nervousness and unease, and moved around in a confused manner.

People in the vicinity ran for cover and out of the elephant’s way but the mahout astride the elephant remained calm and along with his assistants, calmed the elephant.

Deputy Conservator of Forest Prabhugoud, said that the elephant did not panic but was being stubborn in not mounting the truck in which had to be ferried. But after a few minutes, the mahouts were successful in goading it to the truck.

The official said all the three elephants – Mahendra, Lakshmi and Hiranya - successfully completed the Srirangapatana Jamboo Savari and returned to Mysuru.

However, animal rights activists and wildlife conservationists have expressed concern that elephants were being stressed out given the din and noise. Recently, two elephants participating in Mysuru Dasara -Dhananjaya and Kanjan – were embroiled in a fight creating panic among the onlookers before the mahouts reigned them in.

Published - October 04, 2024 08:39 pm IST