Chitwan- A wild elephant named Makuna has died after being shot by a Natioanl park security personnel, the Chitwan National Park has said.

The park said that Makuna died after being shot to scare the elephant as it was spreading fear in the settlements around Sauraha in Chitwan.

The park said in a statement that it had taken various measures to prevent the wild elephant from causing damage to people and property at various stages, but while the elephant sweep patrol team was on a sweeping patrol, Makuna was suddenly found in the Lamital area of ​​the Kumroj Intermediate Community Forest and came to attack a domesticated elephant (Churegaj) and had no other option. In a situation where there was no other option, the park said that two rounds of warning air fire were fired for self-defense as per the provisions of Section 21 of the National Parks and Wildlife Conservation Act, 2029.

“When the elephant did not run away even after firing in the air, Ranger Shyam Tamang, riding the small elephant Khagendra Prasad, fell from the elephant, making it extremely difficult to protect his life. After firing three rounds, he ran away and returned to attack again. When the security personnel fired one more round, Mukuna ran away and was later found lying about 1 km away while searching for him ,” the statement said.

The park confirmed that the elephant died from a single bullet wound to the right side of the neck during the post-mortem.