Darted Karuppan joins herd; Operation Black resumes

COIMBATORE: The wild elephant named ‘Karuppan,’ which went evasive after it was darted with tranquiliser shots as part of ‘Operation Black,’ had joined a herd in the reserve forest area of Sathyamangalam.

It was spotted wandering with a large herd of nine elephants. Expert elephant trackers identified Karuppan by tracking its footprint at Chikkally in Thalavadi Range. The elephant was most likely to venture out of the forest area for crop raiding at night either at Jeerahalli forest range in Hasanur Division or Malkothipuram locality.

Therefore, the farmers were advised to be cautious and also inform the Forest department, if they come across Karuppan. As it was not advisable to carry out the capturing operation when the elephant was with a herd, the Forest department had been waiting for its separation. Besides, over 100 staff, including veterinarians and three kumkis, the department had also deployed drones to monitor the elephant.

On the third day of operation on January 14, the elephant was darted with tranquiliser shots twice, however it couldn’t be sedated completely and the animal retreated into the forest area. Since, darting with subsequent shots may turn fatal for the elephant; the Forest department then suspended the operation.

It was decided to capture Karuppan as efforts by the Forest department to prevent the animal from frequenting farms in villages in Thalavadi range to raid crops turned futile. It has also attacked two farmers to death.