GOA CAN'T SUSTAIN ELEPHANTS, SAY OFFICIALS IN PANAJI, AFTER JUMBOS KILL ONE
>From Pamela D'Mello [EMAIL PROTECTED] Panaji, Aug 2: Goa authorities have stepped up efforts to drive back three wild elephants who have strayed from Karnataka, even as the animals claimed one human life on Sunday. Having exhausted a vast stretch of greenery near Goa's border areas with Karnataka, the pachyderms's foray into banana plantations near hamlets in north Goa has spread panic and destruction. On Sunday, local farmer Yeshwant Phadte was found bleeding seriously and succumbed to his injuries near his plantation. His son alerted villagers when he sited an elephant metres away. Forest officials said some five trained 'kunki' elephants are being despatched from Shimoga, Karnataka by the Karnataka government, in a bid to have the two females and a calf "escorted and guided" back to their native forests in Karnataka. Guiding stray animals with the help of trained bull elephants and their mahouts is one method of taking the wild pachyderms back to their home forests. said officials. In an earlier attempt, using fire torches and drums, the elphants were driven into Maharashtra but returned back to Goa. The operation is the last ditch attempt by forest officials here to deal with the problem, even as panic stricken villagers in Goa, backed by opposition politicians have begun demanding action from the department. The pachyderms who are believed to have strayed into the Goa area from one of the five passes that permit passage along the tall Western Ghats terrain have been here since May. Their previous entry into a village caused several injuries to panic stricken residents, who resorted to using firecrackers in a hamhanded effort to drive them away. Large patches of vegetation have been destroyed officials conceeded, since the animals strayed into the Western Ghats region in Goa. "Goa cannot sustain elephants, since each consume large quantities of vegetation," says Dy Conservator C D Singh. Average sanctuary size in Goa is a mere 80 sq km, compared to the 400 sq km area of sanctuary in Karnataka, he said. "Goa is not their natural habitat. We simply don't have the area". After some delay, officials in Karnataka and Goa have cleared the paperwork and insurance amount to have the trained elephants despatched to the state. ENDS