CHITTOOR: The rogue tusker, which created a havoc in Gudipala mandal, trampling a couple to death on Wednesday, was captured finally by the forest staff with the help of Kumkis on Thursday. The tusker, however, killed another woman before it was captured. According to the forest officials, the tusker killed Vasantha (57) at Bodinettam village in the early hours of Thursday.
As the tusker was behaving aggressively, the forest officials launched ‘Operation Gaja’ to drive away the elephant into the forest with the help of trained elephants. A team of experts from the forest department, aided by two trained elephants, captured the tusker by accomplishing ‘Operation Gaja’.
Two trained elephants Jayanthi and Vinayaka were brought from the Nandyal Training Centre and stationed in the fringe forest area at Ramapuram on Wednesday evening. Following the trainer’s guidance, the two elephants established rapport with the tusker, ultimately enabling the forest staff to capture it. “The operation concluded successfully on Thursday morning when the marauding tusker was secured in a sugarcane field near Ramapuram. Later, it was tranquilised,” Divisional Forest Officer C Chaitanya Kumar Reddy said.
The operation was meticulously planned, incorporating comprehensive measures to capture the tusker. The elephant, which migrated from Tamil Nadu on Tuesday, covered a distance of 40 km the same day. Subsequently, it caused widespread havoc, prompting the forest department to launch the operation to capture it.
Over the course of two days, a team of 50 people, including forest staff, trackers and veterinarians, worked tirelessly to divert or capture the tusker. The Kumkis and dedicated staff, played a key role in facilitating the tusker’s capture, he said. The captured elephant will be shifted Sri Venkateswara Zoological Park in Tirupati. It will be tamed and trained to behave normally before being reintroduced into the wild, the forest officials said. Chittoor MLA Arani Srinivasulu handed over a financial aid of `10 lakh each to the families of the victims.