TURA, Dec 4: Tragedy struck two villages across the Raksamgre and Tikrikilla region of West Garo Hills when a rogue elephant that had reportedly separated from its herd that was moving through the area in search of food, attacked villagers trampling to death a man and a woman, leaving behind another grievously injured in two separate incidents on Saturday.
The first attack occurred at Jamdamgre village at 6 AM when the pachyderm attacked a 37-year-old woman identified as Marsa Marak. The victim, who belonged to Menggotchigre A’ding village, was trampled to death by the wild elephant.
As it moved on, the elephant entered the village of Napakgre where it attacked two other persons at approximately 1:30 PM.
A 52-year-old Bittu Marak was trampled to death at Napakgre while 55-year-old Herod Sangma managed to escape death with grievous injuries to his body.
He was rushed to Tikrikilla Primary Health Centre where doctors had to administer 40 stitches on his mutilated leg before referring him to Goalpara hospital for further treatment.
“The elephants have crossed over to nearby Assam after the incidents and we are coordinating with our Assam counterparts to keep the public under control. Wildlife teams from both states are on the field monitoring the movement of the herd and the rogue elephant,” informed West Garo Hills Deputy Commissioner Ram Singh.
A high alert has also been issued to Raksamgre, Bondukmali, Kakunangre, Kongrapara, Belguri and other villages that are close to the Assam border in view of the elephant movement.
The deputy commissioner has urged the public not to antagonise the elephants which causes them to be aggressive and attack people they come across during their movement.
This being the winter season when forage and food is low in the forests, elephants tend to cross over from neighbouring Bangladesh and even Assam towards villages in search of grain and other food items.
In most herds, the bull elephants that become matured tend to go into a periodic phase known as ‘musth’, which is characterised by high levels of testosterone and a spurt in energy, during which they show heightened aggression and unpredictability. Although it is perfectly natural in the animal kingdom for a healthy bull elephant to go into such a phase, yet, when humans come in their way, the pachyderm tends to look at them as a threat leading to attacks.
