TN tourist crushed as jumbo falls evading tusker attack at Dubare camp

Bengaluru / Madikeri: A woman tourist from Tamil Nadu was killed after a male captive elephant attacked another at the popular Dubare elephant camp near Kushalnagara in Kodagu district Monday, with the victim getting trapped under the second jumbo as it fell while trying to evade the attack. The victim, Jinsu, 33, was a resident of Pallavaram in Chennai. Her husband Joel, an engineer, and their five-year-old daughter Jersey escaped with minor injuries in the chaos that unfolded around 11.15 am while visitors were bathing the jumbos in the Cauvery river at the camp. At the Dubare elephant camp, tourists are allowed, in batches and on a first-come-first-served basis, to touch, scrub, bathe and feed the jumbos as part of an immersive wildlife experience. Jinsu and her family, along with several others, were near 35-year-old elephant Marthanda in the shallow waters, ready to splash water on the jumbo when disaster struck.Officials said 28-year-old tusker Kanjan, which was present near Marthanda, a makhna (male without tusk), suddenly turned aggressive and charged at the other elephant. As panic-stricken tourists ran for safety, Jinsu got trapped between Marthanda's front legs. When Kanjan charged yet again, Marthanda tried to move away, but lost balance and fell on Jinsu, pinning her beneath its belly and causing severe head injuries. She succumbed to injuries on way to hospital. Hundreds of tourists were present at the camp when the incident occurred. It took nearly 10 minutes for the elephant handlers to bring the situation under control, after which tourists were evacuated and the camp was shut for two days. The incident has once again put the spotlight on safety arrangements at Dubare, one of Karnataka's most-visited wildlife tourism centres. Both the elephants involved in Monday's incident were Dasara jumbos, with Kanjan having run amok in the runup to the 2024 festivities in Mysuru. It was contained by its handlers on that occasion, and no damage was done.Senior forest officials clarified neither elephant had directly attacked the tourists.Deputy conservator of forests (Madikeri), Abhishek, who visited the camp, condoled the death and announced compensation of Rs 20 lakh for Jinsu's family. According to the police, the victim's family donated her eyes at Kushalnagar hospital.(With inpits from G Rajendra)