As the operation to drive back a wild elephant with the help of three ‘Kumki’ elephants from a factory here into the jungles has failed, the forest personnel has reportedly tranquilized the pachyderm on Friday to shift it to the forests.
Sources said a lone wild elephant was wandering in the SIPCOT Phase II for the past two weeks creating panic among residents. As efforts to drive the jumbo into forest failed, the forest department brought three ‘Kumki’ elephants from Coimbatore to drive back the pachyderm into nearby jungles.
Though the forest officials tried for the past three days to move the wild elephant with Kumki elephants into nearby forest, their efforts did not succeed. The wild elephant stayed at the same spot.
Following this, the Krisnagiri division forest department personnel obtained permission from the higher authorities to bring the animal under control by tranqulizing it, forest department sources said.
The experts shot a tranquilizer once at 5 pm on Friday. But the wild elephant did not calm down and a second attempt was made by doctors, who administered another dose around 7.30 pm. After this, the jumbo reportedly lost consciousness, sources added.
According to latest report around 8.30 pm, the semi-tranquilized elephant was put in a lorry with the help of three Kumkis and then taken to the nearby Jawalagiri forest in Krishnagiri distirct.