The elephant evaded an earlier attempt too, last year to capture it after tranquilising it with a dart. It then moved into the Kerala forest area and resurfaced only recently forcing the Forest Department to jump into action. 

A large team of the Forest Department has been tracking the rogue elephant for more than a week to commence capturing operations. When the animal came to a suitable terrain at Poonjakolli forest in Gudalur, NS Manokaran, former Joint Director of the Animal Husbandry Department darted the animal at around 1.30 pm. 

Yet, the animal managed to escape into the deep forest area along with its herd. “Surprisingly the elephant didn’t have much influence of the sedation as it is believed to be in ‘musth’ condition. The elephant has been stationed near Coffee Kaadu area,” said an official. 

Yet, the department has decided to go ahead with the capturing operation as the animal has been involved in a series of encounters with people. The elephant, which was involved in the death of three persons in the hill district, also had a similar conflict during its sojourn in Kerala. 

“We may continue with our capturing operation on Thursday,” the official added.