A 45-year-old elephant who was kept in confinement for nearly 18 months in north India for trampling a man to death has been released under observation back into a national park.
Elephant that killed man in north India released after nearly two years confinement
A 45-year-old elephant who was kept in confinement for nearly 18 months in north India for trampling a man to death has been released under observation back into a national park.
The elephant Mithu was held in Kashi wildlife division compound, Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh.
Mithu was reportedly confined after on October 20, 2019, the elephant had killed a man named Ramshankar in a fair in Chandauli district.
A team of mahouts released Mithu into Dudhwa National Park on Monday (June 14), and a medical team found Mithu healthy, and announced he will be kept in quarantine for 5 to 6 months.
According to Dudhwa field director, Sanjay Pathak, “The elephant has not displayed any aggressive behaviour and remained calm since it arrived here.” Pathak added that the elephant’s record of trampling a man to death could be an accident: “Elephants are extremely sensible and do not attack unnecessarily.
As per standard procedure, we will keep Mithu at a separate location with its mahout, who was taking care of it in Varanasi."