Wild elephant enters Siliguri town smashing cars and damaging houses

Following leopard attack in Bengaluru school, in which 6 poeple were injured, a wild tusker caused multiple material damages in Siliguri town.The wild elephant was first spotted at Dabgram.

It had wandered from the Baikunthapur forest in Siliguri, West Bengal. The animal, running amok trampled parked cars and motorbikes:" The elephant entered through a forest zone nearby. People are scared and vulnerable," says villager Milan Saha.

No one was injured yet homes were smashed and vehicles flattened in Siliguri town. Sparking panic, the locals tried to chase it away by bursting firecrackers and throwing hot water on it, despite police advices.

The wildlife squad was sent on site and tranquilizers were administered to the beast, but it failed. “On the third attempt, the elephant panicked and moved deeper into the town,”said R Pradhan, Divisional Forest Officer of Baikunthapur. It took about seven hours when it was finally hit by a tranquiliser dart for the second time. As it got drowsy, wildlife officials lifted it onto a truck with the help of two cranes.

The forest official said the elephant will be examined by vets before being released in Sukhna forest under Mahananda Wildlife Sanctuary.