A fierce fight was reported between Abhimanyu, a trained elephant from Mathigodu elephant camp, and a wild elephant in Channagiri Range Forest on the border of Davangere-Shivamogga districts on Tuesday evening.
The Forest Department had launched an operation to capture the wild elephant that has killed three persons and injured five others in Chitradurga and Davangere districts this month. As part of the operation, a team of personnel from the department, accompanied by five trained elephants, including Abhimanyu, was combing the forest in Manamatti section when the wild elephant was spotted near bamboo bushes at 4.30 p.m.
Veterinary experts, who were part of the team, fired a tranquiliser dart at it. At that moment, another wild elephant that was nearby, charged at the forest personnel, which resulted in Abhimanyu having a face off with the wild elephant. In the fight that lasted for about 30 minutes, the right tusk of the wild elephant was broken. Following this, both the wild elephants — the one at which tranquiliser was fired at and its companion — escaped into the bamboo bushes.
According to officials, both the wild elephants are from the forests in Andhra Pradesh and had raided standing crops in Tumakuru, Chitradurga, and Davangere after which they entered Channagiri Range Forest. On Wednesday, though the operation to capture them commenced at 7 a.m., both the wild elephants remained untraceable. The search operation will continue on Thursday.
