Dasara elephant, Gajendra, which killed a kavadi and another elephant, Srirama, at K Gudi camp in BRT Sanctuary on Sunday evening, was tranquilised and captured near Tondegere forest in the sanctuary on Tuesday afternoon.
Gajendra was brought to the camp around 4 p.m. and chained to a tree to prevent him from going berserk again, as it is in musth.
After sounding an alert subsequent to Gajendra becoming untraceable following the twin attacks, the Forest Department formed teams comprising 60 officers, veterinarians, and mahouts and kavadis to capture the jumbo, which had strayed into the jungles.
The operation took off on Monday morning, but the tall jumbo could not be traced till dusk. The operation resumed again around 7 a.m. on Tuesday.
Lingaraju, Conservator of Forests, BRT Sanctuary, told The Hindu that Gajendra was sighted around 10.30 a.m. at Tondegere forest, about 18 km to 20 km from K Gudi. The operation concluded around 2 p.m., he said.
It was tranquilised with a small proportion of xylazine so that the jumbo could walk. It was chained after a few minutes and brought to the camp by a mahout and under the watchful eyes of the forest officers.
Mr. Lingaraju said the elephant will be kept under observation. “We will be extra vigilant for the next two to three months and reign in the jumbo, which had turned belligerent due to biological conditions,” he said.
Forest veterinarian Nagaraj, who was part of the operation, told The Hindu that the elephant had remained calm throughout the operation and the effect of sedatives would remain till Wednesday morning.
We will be extra vigilant for the next two to three months and reign in the jumbo, which turned belligerent due to biological conditionsLingaraju,Conservator of Forests,
BRT Sanctuary
It took a team of 60 to trace Gajendra, who was at large after killing a kavadi and another elephant
