'Zoo enclosure is saddest place on earth for elephant'

MUMBAI: Animal experts have stated that continuously teasing zoo animals, especially large animals like elephants, and trespassing into their territories are the main provocations that cause the animals to react, sometimes fatally.

The secretary of the Bombay Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (BSPCA), Lt Colonel (Retd) J C Khanna, told TOI, “There is not adequate discipline among the visitors at the Mumbai zoo. They generally tease the animals. But what is more shocking about Sunday’s incident is that a stranger somehow managed to stray into the elephants’ enclosure. The elephants can see this as a major threat.’’

Khanna added that if one is not familiar with large, emotional animals like elephants, one must never violate their space, leave alone trespass into their enclosures. It could be met with a sharp, deadly reaction from the large animals, he said.