Sometimes, you just can't ignore the elephant in the room -wild elephant falls through roof

Sometimes, you just can't ignore the elephant in the ... - PressReader

Apr 22 2017 : The Times of India (Delhi)

An elephant in the room: Surprise visitor comes through the roof

Shantha Thiagarajan

Udhagamandalam:





Building a house close to the road with its roof at ground level is not a very wise proposition, 30-year-old Tamil Nadu resident Zumila knew. She was well aware that a vehicle could veer off the road anytime and plunge into her house, where she lives with her 45-day-old child. But not even in her wildest dreams did she expect what happened to her on Thursday -an elephant calf crashed through her roof as she slept with her child in the house at the Kozhipalam area of Gudalur town.
A jumbo and its year-oldcalf were taking a stroll in the area in the early hours of Thursday when the baby stepped on the asbestos roof of the house. The sheet gave way and the calf vanished into a hole as its horrified mother watches. Zumila and her child were in deep slumber when a deafening crash jolt ed them awake. In the dim light, Zumila saw an elephant in the room, looking as dazed as she felt. Just a bad dream, she thought, and tried to go back to sleep. But things started happening. Her baby shrieked, and the terrified baby's cries alarmed the equally petrified calf. Zumila grabbed her baby and made a dash for the kitchen. “The elephant calf, in its haste to get out of this strange environment, knocked her down as she ran, causing minor injuries,“ said P Ganesan, forest officer, Gudalur range.
The calf could not get out of the house as the front door was closed. But a mother's worry for her child saved the day as the mother elephant, looking for the calf, broke open the backdoor of the house and pulled it our. Zumila, still shaken up, is in hospital being treated for her injuries. “We have photographed the damaged house... The government will recommend compensation to the family ,“ the forest officer said.

In Ooty, elephant calf crashes through roof; woman injured

Shantha Thiagarajan | TNN | Updated: Apr 21, 2017, 09.49 AM IST

• A jumbo and its calf were out on a stroll in Gudalur town when a baby stepped on the asbestos roof of the house
• The roof gave way and the calf vanished into a hole right in front of the eyes of its horrified mother
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  One-year-old elephant calf crashed into a house in Gudalur after it stepped on the ground-level asbestos roof.UDHAGAMANDALAM: When Zumila built her house with the roof just below the road level, she knew there was the risk of a vehicle veering off the road and plunging into the house. But not in her wildest dreams did she expect an elephant to crash through the roof.A jumbo and its year-old-calf were out on a stroll in the early hours of Thursday in the Kozhipalam area in Gudalur town when the baby stepped on the asbestos roof of the house. The roof gave way and the calf vanished into a hole right in front of the eyes of its horrified mother.Zumila, 30, and her 45-day-old baby were deep asleep when a deafening crash jolted them awake. In the dim light Zumila could see an elephant in the room looking dazed.just a bad dream, she thought, and wanted to go back to sleep. But things started happening. On hearing the terrified baby shrieking, the equally petrified calf went berserk. Zumila grabbed her baby and made a dash for the kitchen. "The elephant calf, in its haste to get out of this strange environment, knocked her down causing minor injuries," said P Ganesan, forest officer, Gudalur range.
  
  The calf could not get out of the house as the front door was closed. Just as Zumila was desperate to save her child, the calf's mother too was looking for ways to get its baby out of the mess.
  "The mother elephant broke open the back door of the house and pulled the calf out," said the forest official.
  
  "Once we received the information, we went to the spot and coaxed the elephant and its calf back to the forest," Ganesan said. Located on the Ooty-Kozhikode road, Kozhipalam is just 500 metres away from a reserve forest area.

  
  
  
  A badly shaken Zumila has been admitted to Gudalur Government Hospital.
  
  "We have photographed the damaged house. After procedural formalities, the government will recommend compensation to be paid to the family," the official added.