Wild elephant killed during capture mission by Kodagu forest department

MADIKERI: A wild elephant was killed during the capture mission by the forest department in Kodagu. The incident was reported at Atturu-Nalluru village on Friday morning.

A male wild elephant, aged approximately 20 years, was identified to be captured by the Kodagu division forest department. The identified elephant is suspected to have been the same elephant that had killed a woman in the Atturu-Nalluru estate limits in 2020.

On Friday morning, a total of 40 foresters alongside two tamed elephants took to the capture mission of the male elephant. The elephant was spotted inside the estate owned by Muthanna of the village and it was tranquillized by the forest veterinary doctors Ramesh and Chittiyappa.

However, the sedated elephant ran about 50 meters and fell off into a coffee-drying yard from about 33 feet height. Post this, the elephant continued to escape the holds of the foresters even as ropes were tied around its neck and legs. While the tamed elephants were pulling down the tranquillized male elephant, it collapsed and breathed its last.

“The elephant is suspected to have suffered internal injuries after it fell off from a height in a sedated state. The elephant was blind in its left eye. A postmortem will be conducted and the carcass will be dumped in the Neerukolli Forest limits,” confirmed AT Poovaiah, DCF of Madikeri division forest department.

This is the second such incident reported in the recent past. During May last year, a female wild elephant was killed during the capture mission due to the alleged faulty administration of tranquillizing dosage. In another incident in May 2022, a wild elephant suffered a fractured leg during a capture mission.