Bhopal:

An elderly man was killed in an attack by wild elephants on Saturday outside the buffer zone of the Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve (BTR) in Madhya Pradesh, where 10 jumbos died in three days this week, an official said.

The deceased was identified as Ramratan Yadav (65), he said.

“The wild elephants trampled him to death when he went to answer nature’s call outside the reserve early this morning,” the BTR official said.

The incident took place in Devra village, Umaria Divisional Forest Officer (DFO) Vivek Singh told PTI over phone.

Ten elephants have died in the BTR in a span of three days earlier this week. On Tuesday, four wild elephants were found dead in Sankhani and Bakeli under Khitoli range of the reserve (BTR), while four died on Wednesday and two on Thursday.

Only three elephants, out of the 13-member herd, are alive now, officials have said earlier.

When asked whether the man was killed by the remaining three pachyderms, the official said it was hard to ascertain their identity.

It will only be known after investigation, he added.

Another ground duty official of the BTR said the three remaining jumbos from the herd were seen moving towards the forest area in Katni district.

“This movement is unusual as it had never been found in the past in the BTR,” the forest official said.

The BTR is spread across Umaria and Katni districts in eastern Madhya Pradesh.

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