Elephants destroy standing crop

Sahil Online
03 November 2008

Karwar: The herds of wild elephants sneaking into the paddy fields and destroying standing crops has become a common phenomenon in the villages of Yellapur Haliyal and Mundgod taluks.

The crop raised in nearly 30 acres of land in Gunjavati, byanalli and Baddigeri villages of Mundgod taluk was reportedly destroyed by a herd of nine pachyderms on Friday causing loss to the tune of over Rs one lakh to the framers.

In fact bamboo shoots are considered to be the staple food form the elephants. But this year the gregarious flowering of bamboo trees, a periodic phenomenon, had destroyed entire bamboo species in the forest region. It is due to this reason that the wild elephants attack the paddy fields in search of food.

The forest officials point their finger at large scale cultivation as one of the reasons for the elephants entering the elephants entering the fields. The fact that most of the paddy fields attacked by the elephants are encroached forest land vindicated the claim of the forest officials.

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