Dhoni’s rogue elephant, named Palakkad Tusker-7 (PT-7), continued to wreak terror in residential areas in forest fringes on Wednesday even as the Forest department went ahead with its plan to capture it.
The tusker destroyed the compound wall of a house at Dhoni in the early hours of Tuesday.
PT-7 came out of the forest around 12.30 after midnight and raided paddy fields before razing the compound wall of Mani’s house. Before that, the elephant destroyed another compound wall at Varakulam.
Although PT-7 was chased back into the forest by the rapid response team (RRT) of the Forest department at Varakulam, the tusker re-emerged at Dhoni after an hour and terrorised the people.
An elephant herd spotted at the Kava area in Malampuzha, Palakkad. Rogue elephant PT-7 keeps residents in Dhoni on edge even as the Forest department intensifies its efforts to capture the tusker that has been on the rampage in populated areas. | Photo Credit: K.K. MUSTAFAH
The night raids by PT-7 caused much anguish not only for the people of Dhoni, but also for the members of the RRT. Driving the elephant back into the forest was not easy at night, as the animal kept on moving. PT-7 went into the forest and joined a herd of seven elephants.
Meanwhile, a special task force reached Dhoni on Wednesday evening to capture PT-7. Although the Forest department had planned the capture of the rogue elephant a few weeks ago, a change of plan delayed the operation.
Chief Veterinary Officer Arun Zachariah will lead the darting operation to capture PT-7. Forest officials said that a final action plan would be drafted on Thursday before launching the darting operation. They expressed confidence that the elephant could be captured by Friday.
The forest fringe areas of Dhoni, Akathethara, Puthuppariyaram, and Malampuzha have been facing elephant menace for the last eight years. PT-7 was raiding Dhoni continually for the past 18 months. According to figures released by the Forest department, PT-7 remained out of the forest for more than 180 days of the last year.
Apart from crop and property destruction, several people were attacked by PT-7 in and around Dhoni. PT-7 was suspected to have been the elephant that trampled a 60-year-old man to death at Dhoni in July last year.
