MADIKERI: A wild elephant was killed during a capture mission undertaken by the forest department. The incident was reported at Marandoda village limits in Virajpet taluk of Kodagu. The dead elephant is a female, aged approximately 35 years. The elephant capture mission started at Marandoda near Cheyandane on Tuesday morning. Five tamed elephants alongside the forest staff took to the capture mission and the identified 35-year-old female elephant was separated from the herd and was tranquilized by veterinary Doctor Ramesh.
After tranquilization, the injection to reverse the effects of anaesthetics was also administered. “Following this, the female elephant was moving cautiously and it was being shifted onto a truck with the help from tamed elephants. However, it collapsed on the way and died,” confirmed Chakrapani, Virajpet DCF. Virajpet ACF Roshni added that the elephant might have suffered a cardiac arrest after being stressed. “We will know the cause of the death only after post-mortem,” added Chakrapani.
The Kodagu division forest department has received permission to capture three wild elephants that often raid crops across the villages of the district. Last week, a 20-year-old female elephant was captured in Cheyandane village. This female elephant suffered a fracture on one of its legs during the capture mission and has to undergo an operation. Meanwhile, the second capture mission ended with the tragic death of a female elephant on Tuesday. It is to be noted that the tranquilization experts and other senior officials from the department are currently involved in the tiger capture mission in South Kodagu. Only a post-mortem report will reveal the actual reason for the death of the female elephant.