TIRUPATTUR: In a concerted effort, the Tirupattur forest division and district police on Thursday redirected two tuskers who strayed from their migration route from the Koundinya Wildlife Sanctuary in Chittoor. Forest officials have reported that the elephants, around eight years old, ventured off their path over two weeks ago.
The presence of these elephants in the forest areas of Krishnagiri and Tirupattur had raised concerns among residents as Krishnagiri had already witnessed two human casualties due to elephant encounters. Forest teams from Vaniyambadi, Ambur, and Natrampalli ranges were deployed in ten villages, including Jangalapuram, Ellapalli, Athurkuppam, Kulima Kollai, and Thottikinaru.
A forest official said, "We brought three kumkis — Chinnathambi, Wilson, and Udhaya, from the Mudumalai Tiger Reserve and Anamalai Tiger Reserve to expedite the capture." Two trucks reached Muthampatti in Tirupattur town to transport the elephants.
Commencing their operation at around 5 pm on Thursday, forest officials tranquilised the tuskers after an hour-long pursuit. "As they have not caused any damage so far, we decided to relocate them to the reserve forest with the help of kumkis," said Tirupattur Collector Baskara Pandian. Currently, the elephants have reached the Ponneri-Yelagiri border. District forest officer Naga Sathish, controller Sujatha, Dr Prakash Kalaivanan from Osur, and other officials led the team.