Wild tusker captured after week-long effort in the Nilgiris | Coimbatore News - The Times of India

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

Udhagamandalam: The forest department on Tuesday successfully captured an elephant named Radhakrishnan, using tranquilizer darts, after a week long effort. The tusker had been damaging crops and causing fear among residents in O'Valley in Gudalur, in the Nilgiris.Radhakrishnan, a 50-year-old tusker, was responsible for the deaths of at least 14 people over the past decade. "The tusker wandered into human habitats in the early hours of the morning, raiding crops and attacking people," said a forest official.Following growing demands from the local community to relocate the elephant, higher authorities granted permission to capture the tusker. Subsequently, four kumkis (trained elephants) from Theppakadu elephant camp were brought in to assist with the operation. Around 50 forest staff, along with forest officials and veterinarians, were involved in the effort. Forest veterinarians Dr Rajesh Kumar and Dr Kalaivanan oversaw the operation."The O'Valley terrain is very challenging. We couldn't administer a tranquilizer dart as soon as we spotted Radhakrishnan. So, for the past few days, we camped in a location where tranquilizing would be easier and successfully darted it around 1.10pm today when it crosse the area," said Rajesh Kumar. He added that the tusker went into a bush soon after it was darted, but resurfaced around 1.50pm, during which they administered a supplementary dose of the tranquilizer dart with the help of the kumkis.The tusker was then transported onto a truck and taken to a temporary camp in Abhiyaranyam, in the Mudumalai Tiger Reserve, where an elephant shelter has been kept ready. "The tusker will be kept there at least for two weeks, before the forest department decides on the next course of action," said a forest officer.