‘depredation’ ~ (noun)
would mean an act of attacking or plundering.
This word is often associated with the ravage/ raid and resultant damage
caused by elephants. The picture of an
elephant atop a house at Mudumalai surprised me – but perhaps was no great news
for locals !
There are frequent reports
of wild elephants causing damage to crops, some property and rarely humans too.
Most of the damage is said to be caused during the rainy season when the
elephants from these protected areas enter the human settlements in this
region.
In summer, elephants
search for waterholes and in their movements come in conflict with humans –
again, in many cases, the shrinking forests and encroachments in the elephant
corridor are cited as reason for the conflicts.
Globally, they are poached in large numbers, mainly for the tusks and
are getting killed cruelly.
Those working in MNCs for
sure would have heard very many high sounding terminologies, words of
Management parlance and some are
associated with elephants. Yes,
elephants. Sales people go hunting for elephants; lack of coordination across
teams is like the story of blind men grasping at the elephant; ~ and elephant
in board rooms.
Board members are
concerned about the Company’s value; that is related to growth and then
profitability, declaration of dividends, goodwill, reach of Company’s product
and the like. Making more money from existing customers is the heart of
“Customer Success Management” and as the Company grows, revenue from existing customers becomes a
larger and larger part of its economic value. In Board rooms, there would be
talk on new sales, bookings, managing sales and service, competitor analysis,
leads and pipelines – but still, there could be larger and important issues,
which may not be touched upon.
The phrase, ‘Elephant in
the (board) room’ would mean an important and obvious topic, which everyone
present is aware of, but which isn't discussed, as such discussion is
considered to be uncomfortable.
Presence of elephant could
be uncomfortable and not very pleasant as found out by a houseowner, as
reported in Times of India of date. Building
a house close to the road with its roof at the ground level has its hazards. A
vehicle can veer off the road and plunge into the house, Zumila knew. But not
even in her wildest dreams did she expect an elephant to crash through the
roof.
A jumbo and its year-old calf
were taking a stroll in the early hours of Thursday in the Kozhipalam area of
Gudalur town when the baby stepped on the asbestos roof of the house. The sheet
gave way and the calf vanished into a hole right in front of the eyes of its
horrified mom. Zumila, 30, and her 45-day old baby were deep asleep when a
deafening crash jolted them awake. In the dim light Zumila could see an
elephant in the room looking dazed.
Just a bad dream, she
thought, and wanted to go back to sleep. But things started happening. On
hearing the terrified baby shrieking, the equally petrified calf went berserk.
Zumila grabbed her baby and made a dash for the kitchen. “The elephant calf, in
its haste to get out of this strange environment, knocked her down causing
minor injuries,“ said P Ganesan, forest officer, Gudalur range.
The calf could not get out
of the house as the front door was closed. Just as Zumila was desperate to save
her child, the calf 's mother too was looking for ways to get its baby out of
the mess. “The mother elephant broke open the back door of the house and pulled
the calf out,“ said the forest official. “Once we received the information, we
went to the spot and coaxed the elephant and its calf back to the forest,“ he
said. Located on the Ooty Kozhikode road, Kozhipalam is just 500 metres away
from a reserve forest area.
A badly shaken Zumila was admitted to Gudalur Government Hospital. “We
have photographed the damaged house. After procedural formalities, the
government will recommend compensation to be paid to the family, the Forest
official added.
With regards – S.
Sampathkumar
21st Apr 2017.
PS : During an Insurance seminar of IIISLA at
Anaikatti, Coimbatore, I thought of taking a luncheon stroll – was informed by
the lonely gatekeeper not to venture far on the road and be conscious all the
time. It sounded eerie but this photo answers it all .. ..
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