Mischievous elephant scares tourists

An adult male elephant in a Sri Lankan national park has spread fear among tourists by taking food by force from the safari jeeps carrying visitors to the park.

Tusker Gamunu has been a popular elephant in the Yala National Park for the past ten years but for the past one year, he has been ambushing the safari jeeps and running off with the food of the tourists.

Gamunu now is bold enough to walk right up to a jeep and put his trunk completely into the vehicle to search for food.

When this correspondent was in Yala last week, I saw him put his entire head into a jeep. Thankfully there were only two guests in the jeep and they managed to squeeze themselves to the other side while he rummaged the jeep, took out a knapsack and destroyed it. These guests were shaken by this experience.

While may be a once-in-a-lifetime excitement for adventurous tourists, it could also turn into a serious incident.

Gamunu  was recently caught in the act when he ambushed a car containing wildlife photographer Aditya Singh
 
Safari drivers driving inside Yala fear that the thieving elephant will breaking their windscreens.
 

 

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