Gundlupet: A wild elephant, which used to enter villages bordering Kundakere and Himavad Gopalaswamy Betta forest ranges in Bandipur Tiger Reserve and destroy standing crops, has been captured by the Forest Department staff with the help of tamed elephants near Guddagere.

The wild elephant was creating havoc in human habitats such as Kebbepura, Hundipura, Chowdahalli, Jakkahalli, Mangala and other places near Bandipur by damaging houses, felling trees and destroying standing crops and the villagers were living in a sense of fear. Last week, the farmers had staged protests for three days at Hundipura demanding the capture of the elephant.

Taking the safety of human lives into consideration, the Forest officials and staff summoned tamed elephants from Rampura Elephant Camp and also tamed elephants such as Harsha, Dhananjaya, Gajendra, Parthasarathy and Jayaprakash from Dubare and K. Gudi Elephant Camps and conducted combing operations but the elephant was not traced. For the first time sniffer dog Drona, a German Shepherd, was pressed into service but the elephant was untraceable. Later, the staff of Kundakere Forest Range, who went after the foot marks of the elephant, found it at Guddagere Forest Range. On closer look at the elephant using a drone camera, the Forest staff found the elephant feeding on bamboo.

Soon, Veterinarians Dr. Mirza and Dr. Sadashivan (Mudumalai), who reached the spot, tranquillised the elephant. After the elephant fell unconscious, ropes were secured around its neck and legs. When the elephant regained conscious, it was brought near a truck and was fed water and food. Later, the elephant was loaded into the truck and brought to Rampura Elephant Camp.

Project Tiger Director Dr. Ramesh Kumar, Assistant Conservators of Forests (ACFs) Naveen and Ravindra, Range Forest Officers (RFOs) D. Srinivas Naika and Deepa and other Forest staff took part in the operation.

Dr. Ramesh Kumar, speaking to media persons, said that the elephant had posed a challenge to the Forest Department and added that all the Forest officials and staff, who took part in the operation worked efficiently. He further said that the male elephant is aged between 45 and 50 years and is healthy besides stating that the captured wild tusker will be trained at an elephant camp.