The Forest Department has decided to capture a lone tusker that is, so far, believed to have trampled to death three persons and left one injured in areas near Pollachi in the limits of Anamalai Tiger Reserve (ATR).
Additional Principal Conservator of Forests Debasis Jana, (Chief Conservator of Forests , Coimbatore Circle, also in-charge as Field Director of ATR), told The Hindu that the Chief Wildlife Warden issued an order late on Saturday to tranquillise and capture the wild elephant.
The department was concerned about human lives lost in the attack by the wild elephant, he said.
The tusker, locally called Saappattu Raman due its peculiar habit of stealing cooked food and rice from houses , allegedly trampled two persons in May, and another man on Saturday night and left a woman injured on Sunday morning.
While T. Radhakrishnan, 45, from Arthanaripalayam near Pollachi died late on Saturday, Thirumathal,,65, who resides one km away, was attacked by the same elephant on Sunday morning.
Radhakrishnan was trampled to death by the tusker around 10.30 p.m. when he had come out of his residence. Ms. Thirumathal was attacked by the elephant when she had come out of her house to milk the cow early Sunday. She suffered a deep wound after one of the tusks of the animal pierced her. Her hand was also fractured. She was admitted to a private hospital in Coimbatore.
Following the two attacks, villagers staged a protest in the locality on Sunday morning, demanding the Forest Department to capture and translocate the elephant. They also staged a rock blockade.
On May 24, M. Ranjana, 7, from a tribal settlement at Navamalai, also daughter of an anti-poaching watcher (APW) of the Forest Department, was trampled to death by the tusker, while K. Mahali, 65, from the settlement, was trampled on May 25.
Mr. Jana said that preparations to tranquillize and capture the elephant started on Sunday morning. Various teams such as veterinary surgeons, senior forest officials and APWs reached Arthanaripalayam by Sunday evening.
“The elephant is very fast and agile. It comes out of the forest only in the night. The teams will have to wait for the right moment to tranquillize it”, he said.
A.S. Marimuthu, Deputy Director of ATR, said that three kumkis (trained elephants) from Topslip elephant camp will be used to capture the tusker.
After being captured, the elephant is likely to be shifted to one of the elephant camps of the Forest Department.
