Udhagamandalam: The forest department on Saturday launched an operation to capture rogue tusker Shanker, which had killed three people in the Gudalur division of forests in the Nilgiris last December. They couldn’t, however, make any headway on the first day.
The task force spotted the tusker at Kunjangulli in the Cherambadi range of forests in Gudalur division around 12 noon. Five kumkis, four from the Theppakadu elephant camp in Mudumalai Tiger Reserve and one from the Anamalai Tiger Reserve, have been stationed in Cherambadi area for the operation.
The task force comprises Dr N S Manoharan, retired joint director, veterinary services, who is currently consultant to the Tamil Nadu Forest Academy; Dr Sugumaran, forest veterinary officer; Dr Rajesh, veterinarian attached to the MTR; and experts and trackers with the Gudalur and Coimbatore forest divisions.
Dr Manoharan said, “While the teams are ready for the operation, the current location of the tusker isn’t suitable for tranquilizing the animal by darting it with sedatives.”
He said the elephant was located on a sloppy and swampy hillock, with thick vegetation. “Also, the tusker was escorted by a herd of five elephants, including a big tusker and a calf.”
The tusker was named Shanker in the recent elephant profiling exercise in the Gudalur forest division. Aged around 40 years, the tusker had moved to Kerala forest after it killed three people, including a father-son duo, at Cherambadi in the second week of December 2020. While there was an attempt to capture Shanker back then and darted it with sedatives, the tusker managed to disappear in the forest in the company of an elephant herd.
A few days ago, Shankar was located again in the Cherambadi range of forests.
“Darting a shot is not a problem. What awaits after that is a herculean job, given the difficult terrain where the animal is located now. Hence, we are waiting for the right situation to capture the elephant. The operation will continue on Sunday,” Dr Manoharan said.