Elephant herd gets stuck in slush pond inside estate, rescued

MADIKERI: A herd of nine elephants got stuck in a slushy pond after they entered a coffee estate in search of water at Srimangala Kumatur in Ponnampet taluk on Tuesday night.

The herd had first entered the estate of Kotraganda Subramani near the Yermadu arch on Tuesday morning and after causing considerable damage, moved to the neighbouring estate belonging to Bachetira Deepak last night. When they went to the pond to drink water, they got caught in the slush.

The estate owner noticed the herd on Wednesday morning and some of them had managed to free themselves while the rest were still making attempts to get out. The Forest Department staff, who rushed to the spot, had a tough time in rescuing the herd.

Meanwhile, a lone tusker ventured on to the Madikeri-Mysuru national highway on Wednesday morning near Suntikoppa, obstructing movement of traffic. It later broke the gates and entered a coffee estate, much to the relief of motorists.