Elephant scare in Vizag Zoo,  children moved to safety

Visakhapatnam: Rumours about an elephant running amok created a flutter in Indira Gandhi Zoological Park in Vizag city on January 26. According to the rumours, the 45-year-old tusker named Krishna, which was in captivity and was brought out in the open premises, went out of control on Sunday noon.

The zoo was packed with school students as children under the age of 12 years were given free entry to the zoo on the occasion of Republic Day.

As a precautionary measure, the children were moved to safety and the booking counter was closed for two hours.

A senior official in the zoo told NewsMeter that the elephant Krishna, the oldest male elephant in the zoo, had resisted the command of the mahout.

As a matter of routine process, he informed the officials who immediately moved the children to a safe place. The children later participated in the painting competition organised by the zoo authorities.

These are routine incidents that happen in zoological parks," the official said. The zoo is home to four elephants in total.

The tusker, Krishna was roaming about freely in its enclosure and was seen avoiding the mahout and was not in a mood to socialise.

The curator of the zoo, Yesodha Bai said the staff of the zoo were watching Krishna's movements. The elephant was trying to be alone due to some noise and other reasons, she added.

A couple of years ago, a female Elephant by name Shanthi had also displayed such behavioural traits in the zoo.