DEHRADUN: The aggressive tusker that killed two people in Haridwar and was captured by a joint team of
Rajaji Tiger Reserve
(RTR) and Haridwar forest division on Friday will be radio-collared before being released in the Meethawali range of RTR. Sanatan Sonkar, director,
Rajaji said, “The elephant has been quite aggressive of late and has taken two lives in Haridwar. It was an arduous task for us to capture it as it charged multiple times so we can’t risk releasing it without caution. In order to keep track of the animal it will be radio-collared.”
Komal Singh, wildlife warden in Rajaji said, “The operation to nab the animal was unique one as a sniffer dog was used to find the tranquilised animal when it ran in the forest after being hit by the tranquilizer dart. The dog, named Marshal, smelled the foot marks of the animal and tracked him inside the forest.”
Akash Verma, divisional forest official of Haridwar forest division who was part of the operation praised the other animals, two domestic elephants which played pivotal role in the rescue operation as well.
“I was lucky enough to save my life with tuskar charging at me many times. In one such instance, I stumbled and fell down and was hit in the leg by one of the two domesticated elephants who had forest team members sitting on them. Besides these extreme adverse situations, these two elephants managed to keep the sedated tuskar in check. Otherwise, it could have proved extremely dangerous for us.”
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