Sakrebailu elephant camp reopens with stricter visitor safeguards

Sakrebailu Elephant Camp near Shivamogga reopened to visitors on Saturday after remaining closed since May, with the Forest Department introducing enhanced safety measures for people and elephants. A total of 534 people, including many children and tourists from places such as Bengaluru, visited on the first day, according to The Hindu. Visitors queued to buy tickets after the camp reopened.

The camp had been closed on Forest Department instructions following the death of a woman at Dubare Elephant Camp in Kodagu district on May 18. She was caught between two fighting elephants, prompting the department to prepare standard operating procedures for elephant camps. At Sakrebailu, separate routes have been created for animals and visitors.

The animals’ area is now designated a red zone accessible only to staff, while barricades keep visitors away from the elephants. When elephants leave the kraal area, staff take them to the Tunga River for bathing. Visitors can watch from a designated distance, but earlier activities that allowed them to approach the animals or join mahouts and kavadigas in bathing them have been discontinued.

Prasanna Krishna Patagara, deputy conservator of forests for wildlife in Shivamogga, said the procedures were designed to protect both visitors and animals. He said the viewing area maintains a distance of about 30 feet and that only eight to 10 elephants would be present on a given day. Restrictions would also apply at the bathing area, he said.

The department has installed CCTV cameras throughout the site, erected boards explaining the rules and arranged public announcements to reinforce the precautions.