After Kusha (2022) and Drona (2023) returned to Kodagu forests, it is Daksha now in 2024

Virajpet: A wild elephant that had caused terror among coffee planters, residents and estate workers in the Siddapur-Maldare region and was captured and shifted to Nagarahole Tiger Reserve on May 16, has returned to its original habitat on May 22 by travelling a distance of 100 kilometres.

The elephant had killed a woman working in a coffee estate and destroyed a large quantity of agricultural produce, creating fear among the farmers and labourers and also attacking several people.

At a coffee plantation near the village of Karadigodu in Siddapur, over a hundred personnel, with the help of six tamed elephants from Mathigodu and Dubare elephant camps — Abhimanyu, Bhima, Mahendra, Harsha, Dhananjaya, and Ashwatthama — captured it and fitted it with a radio collar before releasing it into the forests of Antharasanthe in H.D. Kote Taluk, Mysuru district. The captured elephant was named as ‘Daksha.’

Now, within a short period, the troublesome elephant has been spotted roaming in the coffee plantations of Chennangi, Badaga Banangala, and Maldare areas, as indicated by the radio collar signals tracked by the Forest Department.

Before its capture, the wild elephant moved across coffee plantations through Siddapur, Ghattadalla and Karadigodu, appearing in the Chikkanahalli plantation. The Forest Department staff followed the elephant for about 10 kilometres through the narrow coffee plantation roads and successfully captured it using a tranquilliser.

The elephant was then loaded onto a truck using an earth mover and released into Antharasanthe Forest in H.D. Kote. From there, it travelled back through Nagarahole Tiger Reserve, Veeranahosalli, Kallalla and Anechowkur, reaching the Chennangi Forest area.

Residents and estate workers spotted the wild elephant near Chennangi school, identifiable by its radio collar, confirming it as the same elephant captured on May 16. The Forest Department’s radio collar map also verified the elephant’s return. Currently, a team of personnel is actively monitoring the elephant’s movements.

Deceptive tactics of officers

Kadyamada Manu Somaiah, President of the Kodagu District Farmers’ Association, has expressed frustration with the Government’s approach to the wild elephant menace.

He believes that the practice of capturing and relocating elephants, only for them to return to coffee plantations, is a deceptive tactic employed by Government officials. The continuous destruction of agricultural produce has made it impossible for labourers and farmers to live peacefully, he noted.

Somaiah emphasises the need for the Forest Department to develop scientific action plans to effectively address the issue of wild animal menace. Mahadev, a labour leader, has highlighted the significant expenses incurred by the Government in capturing, fitting radio collars and releasing elephants into the forest.

He pointed out that if an elephant returns to the village, it would necessitate spending additional money in lakhs to capture and relocate it once more. He advocated for a permanent solution to the wild elephant menace.

Previous elephant travels

In July 2023, a wild tusker named Drona, previously captured and relocated from Virajpet Taluk to H.D. Kote jungles, surprised many by embarking on a journey back to its original capture site, spanning approximately 100 kilometres in just 20 days.

In 2022, Kodagu district witnessed the remarkable journey of another tusker named Kusha, who covered an extraordinary distance from Bandipur Tiger Reserve to his familiar territory in the Dubare Forest Range. For six months, the 31-year-old Kusha traversed an impressive distance of over 150 kilometres, ultimately arriving at the Dubare Elephant Camp in June 2022.