COIMBATORE: The two-month operation by Forest department to capture elephant Shankar bore fruit on Friday with officials capturing the 20-year-old wild tusker near Gudalur in the Nilgiris. A team of veterinarians headed by K Asokan, Forest Veterinary Officer of Sathyamangalam Tiger Reserve, veterinarians G Vijayaragavan and K Rajeshkumar shot the tranquilizer dart at the wild elephant, which killed three persons last year, at Tenth Line at Cherampadi.
Operation started at 2.40 pm after officials chased away an elephant herd which was moving with Shankar.
“An attempt to tranquilize the elephant was made on Wednesday on Wednesday, but the tusker slipped away. This time we darted it with two strong doses of sedatives from a paran (temporary structure in a tree) after chasing other wild elephants,” said K Asokan, Forest Veterinary Officer.
“The elephant was in a good health. Until the elephant is shifted to the Kraal (Elephant Closure) at Theppakadu Elephant Camp in Mudumalai Tiger Reserve (MTR), mild dose of sedative would be used,” he further added. C Dinesh, Assistant Conservator of Forest (Coimbatore Division) told TNIE, “As the place where the elephant was darted is a forest cover, forest department is working to create a temporary path to take a truck closer to Shankar.”