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MYSURU: The number of elephants that fell to bullets has risen to three in the last two months as a 35-year-old male elephant was found dead with bullet injuries at Hadya village near Hediyala in Nanjangud taluk on Monday.
The body was found in the sugarcane field belonging to one Basavaraju. The elephant had been shot in the upper abdomen, legs and chest.
Forest officials suspect the killing to be the result of growing angst among farmers in the forest fringe villages. The ivory of the animal which might have died a day or two ago is intact. The man-animal conflict has gone up in recent days at Hadya, Hediyala, Eregowdanahundi, Hanchipura, Indiranagar, Maduvinahalli, Kandegala and neighbouring villages that are close to Bandipur National Park.
During the last fortnight, herds of jumbos were found going berserk in the agricultural fields of these villages destroying crops worth lakhs.
Efforts of the Forest Department to drive the jumbos back into forest had helped little as the wild guests were finding their way into the villages again.
In Madikeri
Madikeri: Kasheeshawari (40), a resident of Guhayya village from Siddapura was killed by a wild elephant when she was working in a coffee state on Monday.
In Belagavi
Belagavi: Jumbo terror has struck again in the villagers of Chunchawad and surrounding areas, causing heavy losses for farmers in Khanapur taluk in recent days. A herd of six elephants, including two calves, have now camped in the sugarcane fields of Chunchawad village, forcing the farmers to stay away.