Search on for elusive rogue jumbo

The officials have decided to capture the rogue elephant by tranquilising and thereafter relocating it to a safer zone. The jumbo has been venturing out of the forest triggering panic among villagers in fringe areas over the last two weeks. 

“Around 100 staff have been involved in locating the tusker in the Rayakottai forest range, which is spread over an area of over 150 sq kms. Two teams of veterinary experts led by Arun A Sha from Karnataka and Prakash of Krishnagiri have accompanied the search teams armed with a darting gun to sedate the animal,” said a senior forest official.

The forest department has been adopting precaution as the capture operation could be executed only by considering various parameters including a favourable terrain. If there is a rough terrain then there are chances for the animal to get hurt, when it collapses under the influence of sedation. The forest department has predicted the tusker to be around 15 years of age and may require two darts of sedation. The move by the forest department to capture the animal comes after the tusker trampled to death two persons in a single day. 

“On Saturday morning, Rajappa, 70, of Banthirakotta village near Chinnar was on his way to a tea shop with a few other villagers, when the tusker suddenly emerged from a bush and lifted him and flung him to the ground, killing him on the spot,” said a forest department official. 

Similarly, Muniraj, 60, of Devarkuttapallam village near Chinnar of Krishnagiri was found dead along the course of the South Pennar River on Sunday morning. Injuries on his body suggested that he died in elephant attack on Saturday night. The forest department officials said that they may suspend the search operation to tranquilise the elephant in night and may continue on Monday.