Foresters ready to tranquillize, capture crop-raiding makhna

Coimbatore: Forest department officials of the Anamalai Tiger Reserve (ATR) are camping at Saralapathy in Pollachi forest range to capture a crop-raiding tuskless male elephant (makhna) for the third time.The elephant has been straying out of the reserve forest after dusk to enter agricultural fields on the forest boundary, range officer V Pugalenthi said. “It returns to the forest around 5.30am. We have been monitoring its movement for the last two months,” he told TOI.Chief wildlife warden Srinivas R Reddy issued an order to capture the elephant three days ago. Subsequently, a team consisting of veterinary officers Sukumar, Vijayaragavan, Sadasivam and Rajeshkumar was formed to track down the elephant and dart it.Kumki elephants Chinna Thambi, Rajavardhan and Kapildev were deployed in Saralapathy in April to chase away the crop raider to the reserve forest. “It was captured twice, but continues to raid crops. We plan to catch it and release it in a reserve forest,” said an official.Such elephants exhibit habitual raiding behaviour and it is very difficult to dissuade them, the official added.The department had first captured the elephant from Palacode block of Dharmapuri district on February 5 after it strayed into human habitations and destroyed crops. It was translocated to Varakaliyar forest on February 6, but strayed out of the forest and entered human habitations on February 21. It had travelled more than 100km when it was captured from Perur, in Coimbatore, on February 23.The animal was radio collared and was again translocated to the reserve forest at Ulandy range of ATR on February 24. However, the collar failed to work. Meanwhile, the elephant moved towards Saralapathy and has been roaming there for the last two months.