TIRUPATI: The 16-year-old male elephant, which killed three people in Chittoor district, reportedly succumbed to self-inflicted injuries at the Sri Venkateswara Zoological Park in Tirupati on Tuesday. Zoo curator C Selvam explained that veterinary experts and skilled mahouts tirelessly took care of the elephant, which was housed in a specialized enclosure since its arrival.
“Due to its aggressive behavior, the elephant frequently sustained injuries. Despite extensive veterinary care, the jumbo failed to recover, eventually leading to its untimely death on Tuesday,” he said. After being separated from its herd, the tusker wreaked havoc in Chittoor district’s Gudipala mandal as it damaged crops, attacked livestock, and trampled on three people, prompting the forest officials to launch Operation Gaja to capture it.
Two days before being captured, the elephant attacked Venkatesh (50) and his wife Selvi (45) at Ramapuram village. It also injured a youngster near a mango orchard in CK village. A team of experts from the forest department captured the rogue tusker on August 31 soon after it trampled on another woman, Vasanta (57), in Bodinettam village situated on the AP-Tamil Nadu border.
Two trained elephants (kumkis), Jayanthi and Vinayaka, brought from the Naniyala Training Centre also assisted in Operation Gaja. The rogue elephant was then relocated to the SV Zoo in Tirupati. In a separate incident, a middle-aged male elephant was reportedly electrocuted at Gantavari Palli in Sadum mandal, Chittoor district on Wednesday. Wildlife officials said the solitary elephant was foraging for food on a farmland near the forest when it accidentally came into contact with a transformer.