Forest officials capture 40-year-old rampaging elephant
by Komal KashyapTwo months of hard work paid off as the forest officials successfully captured the elephant that had destroyed numerous properties, crops, and other belongings of local residents with the help of two other pachyderms.
The incident took place in Somwarpet town in Kodagu district in Karnataka on February 1.
Visuals show the destructive elephant attacking a car. In another shot, two helper pachyderms can be seen tied to the aggressive one, being guided by a group of people. Some individuals were seen sitting on the large mammal during the operation. Later, the elephant was secured with several ropes, lifted by a crane, and placed into the back of a truck. A large crowd of locals and vehicles were present at the rescue site.
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Speaking to Newslions, Range Forest Officer Shailendra Kumar N stated that the elephant had instilled a sense of fear among locals from past one year, having destroyed crops, attacked and damaged 4 to 5 cars, as well as farms in the Somwarpet area. The government had ordered its capture, and over the past 1 to 2 months, the team had been planning the operation. They tracked the elephant’s movements daily for the last week, and on Friday, January 31, they set up the trap with the help of two trained elephants. Finally, on February 1st, the elephant was successfully captured.
The rescue team included Zonal Forest Officer Shailendra Kumar N, Assistant Forest Conservation Officer Gopal, and Deputy Forest Conservation Officer Bhaskar, along with the entire staff of the Somwarpet Forest Division. Additionally, trained elephants—Jai Marthanda, Prashant, Sugreev, Dhananjay, Harsha, and Shriram—were part of the operation, playing a crucial role in the efforts.