The marauding elephant that had been wreaking havoc in the fringes of forest areas in Chittoor district along Andhra Pradesh-Tamil Nadu-Karnataka border has finally been captured. A team of experts from the AP forest department used the help of two trained Kumki elephants to arraign the rogue tusker on Thursday.
However, before it could be captured on the day, the elephant in the musth trampled a 57-year-old woman Vasanta of Bodinettam village on the AP-TN border. This is its third fatal attack within a span of just two days in the Chittoor district.
On Wednesday, the marauding elephant trampled to death a couple – 50-year-old Venkatesh and his 45-year-old wife Selvi in 197 Ramapuram village. It also severely injured a youth near a mango grove in C.K. village.
The incidents had spread panic in villages along the border in both Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu. Villagers demanded the forest department immediately take action to capture the elephant. The department launched "Operation Gaja" to end the rogue elephant's terror.
A large number of foresters drafted a plan to trap the tusker. They brought two trained elephants – Jayanthi and Vinayaka – from the Naniyala Training Centre and stationed them at the fringe of the forest near Ramapuram on Wednesday evening.
Divisional forest officer Chaitanya Kumar Reddy said Operation Gaja concluded when the trained Kumki elephants, guided by their trainers, approached the rogue elephant in a sugarcane field near Ramapuram and assisted in its capture. The DFO said the planned the operation meticulously and took extensive measures to capture the rogue elephant.
"The tusker had come from Tamil Nadu on Tuesday, covering a distance of 40 km the same day. Subsequently, it caused widespread havoc, prompting the department to launch an operation to catch it. Over the course of two days, a team of 50 individuals, including forest staff, trackers, veterinarians, and tranquiliser experts, worked tirelessly to divert or catch the elephant. The presence of Kumkis as well as the staff played a crucial role in capturing the elephant," Chaitanya Kumar stated.
Officials said the captured elephant will be relocated to SV Zoo Park in Tirupati. It will be trained till its behaviour becomes normal, before being released into the wild. Chittoor MLA Arani Srinivasulu, along with DFO Chaitanya Kumar Reddy, handed over a cheque of ₹10 lakh each to families of those killed in the elephant attacks.
