Wild tusker, wreaking havoc, captured in Karnataka's Suntikoppa

A 20-year-old wild tusker that had been causing panic in the Kedakal Gram Panchayat limits of Suntikoppa was captured by the forest department on Wednesday. During the capture operation, forest department RRT staff Girish lost his life after being attacked by the elephant.

The tusker, which had been hiding in a plantation, moved towards the road after being tranquillized. A team of a hundred staff and five tamed elephants, namely Harsha, Prashanth, Ajay, Lakshman, and Vikram from Dubare elephant camp, were used in the capture operation.

The elephant had been running between plantations, making the task tedious. Intensive efforts had been underway for the past two days to capture the rogue elephant.

On Tuesday night, the elephant was spotted in a field near Moduru, but the operation couldn't be carried out as it was already dark. Later, the elephant moved towards the Chain gate, returned to Cinkona, and damaged an auto-rickshaw in Kedakal limits.

On Wednesday morning, the elephant damaged a two-wheeler owned by an individual named Mohan in Horuru, prompting the forest department team to head to Horuru. The elephant was later spotted in a plantation owned by Pradhan Chinnappa in Horuru village.

The rogue elephant was surrounded by the five trained elephants and was tranquilized by Veterinarian Dr Birja Wasim. After considerable effort, it was lifted by a crane, loaded onto a lorry, and taken to the Dubare elephant camp.

Plantation owner Pradhan Chinnappa reported a loss of lakhs of rupees due to the damage to hundreds of plants. Nevertheless, it was a relief that the elephant was finally captured.

Forest department officials Poovaiah, Ranjan, Devaiah, Anil D'Souza, and others were present during the operation, which attracted hundreds of spectators.