Elephant Karuppan found with herd at Talavadi Hills reserve forest
The Hindu
Karuppan was found with nine other elephants inside the reserve forest area and drones have been deployed to monitor the movement of the elephant
The wild elephant, nicknamed Karuppan, that was darted and not fully sedated during the ‘Operation Black’ on January 14, was found with a herd inside the reserve forest area of Talavadi here on Tuesday, January 17, 2023.
K. Rajkumar, Conservator of Forests and Field Director, Sathyamangalam Tiger Reserve (STR), told The Hindu that the elephant was found with nine other elephants inside the reserve forest area and drones have been deployed to monitor the movement of Karuppan continuously.
“It is not advisable to continue the operation while the elephant is with a herd and we are waiting for the elephant to move away”, he added.
The operation to capture Karuppan could not be completed on the third day of operation on January 14, as the darted elephant was not fully sedated, and it entered the forest area.
Though veterinarians fired another transquillizer dart, the elephant was not sedated and moved deep into the forest. The operation was called off temporarily and teams continuously monitored its movement and tracked it.
Devendra Kumar Meena, District Forest Officer, Hasanur Division and Deputy Director of STR, said bushes and a water body are also present at the spot where Karuppan has been tracked. “We are waiting for the elephant to come out of the forest area after which we will resume our operation,” he said.
Over 120 staff, three kumkis and three earthmovers were kept ready to capture the elephant, fix a radio collar with GPS and translocate it that was involved in conflicts with human beings and crop-raiding for the last one year.