Tusker caught in slush in Kodagu village struggles for hours, finally rescued

MADIKERI: A wild elephant, which had strayed into Chikkabetageri in Kushalnagar taluk in search of food, fell into a slushy ditch on Tuesday night. It was finally rescued on Wednesday.

The tusker was completely stuck in the slush and made several attempts to pull itself out, but failed. On receiving information the Forest Department staff reached the spot and launched rescue efforts. The elephant was visibly tired after making several attempts to get out of the slush.

The Forest officials and locals first tried throwing some wooden logs into the slush to help the elephant get a footing. When everything failed, they finally brought in an excavator to help the elephant out of the slush.

Meanwhile, a tiger was spotted at the Mandemudi Kere lake near the Subramanya temple in Harihara village of Ponnampet taluk around 8.15 am on Wednesday. The tiger had come to the lake to drink water.

The sighting of the tiger has created panic among the villagers who have informed the Forest Department. The officials have cautioned estate workers to be alert till the tiger can be tracked and relocation measures taken.