HAVERI: The wild tusker that was roaming in the Haveri district for the last three weeks was honey-trapped and caught by the forest officials. Five elephants and 100-plus staff from various divisions of the forest department took part in the relocation operation that was conducted in and around Guttal forest area of Haveri taluk.
The foresters had left a cow elephant on Wednesday night in the forest area where the tusker was found roaming. By next morning, the tusker was found grazing near the cow elephant and the forest team managed to sedate it with a dart.
The tusker was wandering in Haveri district for the last three weeks creating fear among the villagers. Separated from its herd, 15-year-old tusker had missed its regular corridor near Mundgod taluk of Uttara Kannada district and moved to the neighbouring Hangal of Haveri.
After forest officials made efforts to drive it back to its corridor were failed, it was decided to capture it and relocate it to thick forest areas before it harmed a few more people in the district.
To capture it, a total of five trained elephants including a cow elephant from Sakrebailu Elephant Camp of Shivamogga district were deployed for the operation. Over 100 forest staff including experts from Sakrebailu, Mysuru and Dharwad were also part of the operation.
"As part of capturing the wild tusker, the forest officials planned to use a honey-trap trick. On Wednesday night, the trained female elephant was tied to a tree near a temple to attract the wild tusker and they were waiting at a temporary camp. On Thursday early morning, the wild tusker was roaming around the female elephant, and the experts tranquilised it," explained a forest official.
Haveri Deputy Conservator of Forests Balakrishna S said that the captured tusker will be relocated in Bhadra Tiger Reserve in Chikkamagaluru district. "The experts from the forest department have tied a radio collar to track its movement. Within 35-40 minutes the entire process was completed," the official said.