Mighty Balarama chases away wild elephant

Dasara elephant Balarama tried to tame the wild elephant which had strayed into Baslapura village in Mysuru district. DHNS

Residents of Baslapura village in Mysuru district were in for a spectacular show on Tuesday when forest department used its trained elephants led by Balarama of the Dasara fame, to  drive away a solitary male elephant. 

The wild elephant, which had strayed into the village, created a tense situation as farmers worried about their crops. The elephant remained inside a cornfield of the village till 5 PM though without creating any trouble.

As soon as the wild elephant saw Balarama and other domesticated elephants, it came out of the field charging at them and set the stage for the fight. 

With the guidance of its mahout, however, Balarama managed to overpower the wild elephant and vanquished it by pushing it down to the ground. Later, the wild elephant was escorted by the rescue team to a nearby forest.

About 10, 000 people watched the clash of the elephants. During the operation, one of the mahouts and a photographer, who was covering the incident, had a close shave. No major crop loss was reported.