Tusker that was troubling South Kodagu villages captured

MADIKERI: Foresters of the Virajpet division on Sunday managed to capture a tusker that had been causing much trouble in Hosuru, Bettageri, Kalathmadu, Devapura and Gottada villages in Kodagu district. The 45-year-old tusker, which had rampaged across many agricultural fields and caused much damage to property in South Kodagu, was captured in Devarapura and shifted to an elephant camp in Chamarajanagar.
Foresters had been tracking the elephant for the past week. They commenced the operation to nab the tusker around 9am on Sunday. The elephant was spotted four hours after they started the rescue mission. The elephant was first tranquillised – the tusker reportedly ran for 100m before the tranquilliser dart kicked in and it fell. Arjuna, Gopalaswamy, Ganesha, Harsha and Krishna were among the elephants that assisted the foresters in capturing the rogue tusker. Veterinarian Mujeeb and sharpshooter Akram were also part of the operation, which was led by chief conservator of forests Heeralal, while Virajpet deputy conservator of forests Chakrapani and assistant conservator of forests Roshni were among the officials who participated in the mission.