Sigh of relief: Rogue elephant darted with tranquillisers in Wayanad’s Mananthavady

Wayanad: A wild elephant called 'Thaneer', which has been terrorising several areas in Wayanad’s Mananthavady for several hours, has been darted with tranquillisers on Friday evening as part of a mission to capture it. It is learned that more tranquilliser shots would be fired at the elephant if required.

Once sedated, the jumbo with a radio collar would be fixed on it to track its movement. The pachyderm is expected to be relocated to the Karnataka side. As part of the mission, the forest department has mobilized kumki elephants, which would herd the captured jumbo from the banana plantation--where it has been seen. 

A truck has been waiting 100 metres away from the plantation to transport the animal. The forest officials are keenly observing the elephant. The animal is seen subdued. 

It may be noted that tranquillisation was prolonged as the elephant was moving within the plantation. Crackers were busted 15 rounds to bring it to an open area. One tranquilliser shot missed the elephant. The second shot hit the upper side of its left leg. Later, another shot was also administered. 

The elephant had left residents on tenterhooks since it was spotted at 3 am. However, it did not try to attack or cause any damage. But tension remained high as the elephant was captured earlier for creating a ruckus in Hassan (Karnataka) two weeks ago. It was later released to the Bandipur forest from where it made its way to Mananthavady. 

Due to the impending situation, a curfew was imposed in Mananthavady region as per CRPC 144. The order, issued by the Sub Divisional Magistrate, applied to 4,5, and 6 wards in Edavaka Grama Panchayat and 24,25,26 and 27 divisions in the Mananthavady municipality.