Bhubaneswar, November 8: A youth has landed in jail on the charge of teasing a wild elephant by pulling its tail. The youth hailing from Banarpal block of Angul district was arrested on Wednesday under the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972.
According to the State Forest Department sources, the youth identified as Dilip Sahoo of Kulad was part of a crowd that tried to chase away a straying tusker on Sunday evening.
During the chase, Sahoo allegedly pulled the tail of the tusker.
The elephant got enraged at the stupid act of the youth and turned back to attack the crowd. It menacingly chased the crowd. However, the mammal changed its mind in seconds and retreated to the wild without causing any harm.
The video of the entire episode went viral on social media. Senior Indian Forest Service (IFS) officer Susanta Nanda posted the incident on his X (formerly Twitter) handle, seeking information on the culprit. He also announced an award for the informant.
After getting inputs about the culprit and collecting evidence, the forest department booked Sahoo under Section 9 of the Wildlife Protection Act and arrested him.
Experts said Sahoo’s act could have enraged the elephant further and could potentially result in the tusker mauling him down or destroying property in the village.
“Such kind of idiotic and imprudent incidents are increasingly seen in Odisha in recent years. Very recently, a similar case came to the fore in Athagarh under Cuttack district. Some youths put a bet among themselves on who would be able to pass under the belly of a wild elephant. It was outright stupid and dangerous, so as to pull the tail,” said wildlife expert Biswajit Mohanty.
Stating that some unwise people indulged in such foolish acts to get some likes on social media, Mohanty said they should know that they were endangering their lives.
Teasing and harassing wild animals is an offense and punishable under the law. In fact, there is a provision of punishment of three to seven years for such crimes under the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972.
