French woman dies in Gudalur jungle after jumbo attack

Shantha Thiagarajan, TNN 15 August 2009, 02:31am ISTGUDALUR (NILGIRIS District): A trek into the wild turned tragic for two French tourists in Gudalur, Nilgiris district, when an elephant attacked them on Friday. While Annie Delyotal (65) died on the spot, her son, Frederick (39), escaped with minor injuries.

The duo, residents of Isle-sur-Marne in northeastern France, arrived in Bangalore on August 11. They checked into a jungle resort at Bokkapuram village, near Masinagudi, about 12km from the Mudumalai tiger reserve, on Thursday.

As they were interested in watching wildlife, they headed into the jungles in a jeep with two employees of the Blue Valley Jungle resort, where they were staying, around 6.30am on Friday. On their way to Vibuthi Malai, which is flanked by the Singara and Avaralla reserve forests, the group noticed a herd of elephants, including three calves. The tourists immediately started taking photographs.

Angered by the camera flash, a mother elephant and a calf charged towards the jeep. The mother elephant hit Annie with its trunk, killing her on the spot. Frederick, who tried to rescue her, suffered injuries.

The guides fled to the resort and informed the manager. Other employees were sent to the attack site, and they took Frederick and his mother's body to the Gudalur government hospital.

Frederick, who was discharged from the hospital after being treated for minor injuries, left for Bangalore in the evening. He said he would fly back to Paris with the body of his mother.

Forest officials said the elephant had not trampled the tourists, and had only lashed out with its trunk. The woman could have died of shock, said Gudalur DSP V Kumaresan, who is probing into the incident. The police have taken the resort staff who accompanied the tourists George and Raju into custody.

About 30 resorts have sprouted near the Mudumalai reserve, and they lure tourists with promises of night safaris. Jeeps from several resorts drive into the jungles in violation of the rules of the Forest department, disturbing wildlife and putting the lives of tourists in peril, wildlife activists alleged.

The Blue Valley Jungle Resort in Bokkapuram has been functioning for more than 12 years. But R Natesan, assistant director of town panchayat, said it was illegal as the buildings had been constructed by obtaining approval from the local panchayat for constructing a house. The resort, spread out over more than an acre, is situated on patta land that comes under the Tamil Nadu Preservation of Private Forest Act (TNPPF).

N Soundarapandian, district forest officer, north division, said any patta land coming under the Act should be preserved and no construction or even cultivation activities were permitted. "When the department is arranging safe and proper safaris, it is sad that some tourists are lured by the promises of these resorts," he said.http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/news/city/chennai/French-woman-dies-in-Gudalur-jungle-after-jumbo-attack/articleshow/4895533.cms