PALAKKAD: The decision to translocate Palakkad Tusker 7 (PT 7) to the training camp in the Muthanga wildlife sanctuary in Wayanad from the Dhoni area has finally been shelved. Instead, the tusker will be tranquillised and caged in Dhoni itself.
Palakkad divisional forest officer B Ranjith told TNIE that since the Wayanad elephant training camp is 200km away, the transportation of the elephant is fraught with risks. Therefore, it has been decided to tranquillise and cage it in Dhoni itself.
He said an order to this effect has been brought out by Ganga Singh, principal chief conservator of forests, who is also the chief wildlife warden of the state.
He said a team from Wayanad will arrive in Palakkad on January 4 and finalise the procedures. The persons who will make the Kraal (cage) will also arrive from there.
The cage will be made in Dhoni and the eucalyptus trees to be felled for the purpose have been measured and marked on Monday. The tranquillisation and caging of the elephant will take at least 10 to 12 days, he added.
Currently, due to the intervention of the rapid response team, PT7 has moved to Mundur area from Dhoni where it had been damaging crops every night. It had also killed a man who was on a morning stroll a few months ago. Earlier, it was planned to shift the elephant after tranquillising it to Muthanga and give it training to convert it into a kumki elephant. A team led by forest veterinary officer Ajesh Mohandas from Muthanga had camped here for over a week to monitor the movement of PT 7 as part of the operation to shift it to Muthanga.
As per the new plan, Palakkad DFO will coordinate the operation to cage PT 7 in Dhoni. The CCF (Eastern circle) will supervise the operation. The kumki elephants, Bharat and Vikram, will also be part of the operation to lead PT 7 into a cage here, said forest officials.