Range officer V Pugalenthi said the elephant has been coming out of the reserve forest and entering agricultural areas on the forest border after dusk. “It returns to the forest around 5.30 am. We are tracking its movement since last two months,” he told TOI.
Chief Wildlife Warden Srinivas R Reddy had issued the order to capture the elephant three days ago. Thereafter, a team comprising Veterinary Officers Sukumar, Vijayaraghavan, Sadhasivam and Rajeshkumar was formed to locate and drive away the elephant.
Kumki elephants Chinna Thambi, Rajvardhan and Kapildev were deployed at Saralapathi in April to ward off Cutting Invaders to reserved forest. “It was caught twice, but continues to attack crops. “We are planning to capture it and release it in a reserve forest,” said an official.
The official said such elephants habitually display aggressive behavior and are very difficult to dissuade.
The department had first captured the elephant from Palakode block of Dharmapuri district on February 5 after it had strayed into human settlements and destroyed crops. It was shifted to Varakliyar forest on 6 February, but it strayed out of the forest and entered human settlements on 21 February. It had traveled over 100 km when it was captured from Perur in Coimbatore on February 23.
The animal was radio-collared and again shifted to the reserve forest in Ulandi range of ATR on February 24. However, the collar failed to work. Meanwhile, the elephant moved towards Saralapathi and has been roaming there for the past two months.