One more death in wild elephant attack; UDF announces hartal in Wayanad on Saturday

MANANTHAVADY: UDF has announced a hartal in Wayanad tomorrow after a forest watcher died after being attacked by a wild elephant on Kuruva Island today. The hartal was announced after wild elephant attacks led to two deaths in the district within one week.

Pulpally Pakkam native Paul, a watcher of wildlife protection samithi, was attacked by a wild elephant today morning at 9 am. He came before a herd of elephants while going to work. He was trampled by one of the elephants. Paul, who sustained serious injuries, died while undergoing treatment at the Kozhikode Medical College.

A few days ago, a wild elephant with a radio collar fixed on it from Karnataka had trampled a middle-aged man named Ajeesh to death at Panachi near Padamala in Mananthavady. The elephant was later identified as Belur Magna, which was released into the Molahalli forest by the Karnataka Forest Department on November 30.