The deceased identified as M Sarasu from Anaikatti tribal village met with the tragic fate, when she ventured into the reserve forest area along with two others to collect fodder for her cattle. “The female elephant was with its calf,” said an official.

Meanwhile, the Forest Department has been trying to locate the problematic wild elephant named ‘Shankar’ in the forest adjoining Pandalur Taluk in The Nilgiris. “The animal has gone into deep woods and is unable to locate it despite deploying drones. In addition, three special teams roped from Anamalai Tiger Reserve, Mudumalai Tiger Reserve and Gudalur Forest Division have been on the field in search of the missing jumbo,” said an official.

The Forest Department decided to capture the jumbo after villagers mounted pressure by holding massive protests in Gudalur on Monday following the tragic death of a father and son.

Curiously, the elephant, a habitual crop raider was named Shankar as it was first noticed by a forest guard himself named Shankar during a profiling exercise way back in 2016.

“The animal has just one tusk as the other is broken and is also known for its aggressive behavior. We hope that the elephant will venture out of the forest in a day or two,” said the official.