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Rishikesh tusker found, rescued
The tusker said to have been responsible for five human deaths in the forests of Rishikesh was finally located, tranquilised and rehabilitated on Saturday. The Uttarakhand Forest Department succeeded in doing the job after more than a couple of failed attempts over the past one-and-a-half months. The pachyderm has now been relocated to the Chilla range of the Rajaji National Park.
Believed to have been responsible for five human deaths in the forests of Shivpuri and Rishikesh ranges, the elephant killed the driver of an MLA on November 8. This triggered protests among the locals leading to the Chief Wildlife Warden issuing an order for termination of the pachyderm but, following protests by wildlife activists, the department decided to first try to tranquilise and relocate the tusker.
Three tame cow elephants were brought from the Corbett National Park to assist in the operation. The tusker got attracted to these elephants though it ended up attacking and injuring one of them. For more than a month, the department tried to tranquilise the beast. Rangers darted it three times but every time the elephant escaped to an inaccessible or hidden location after being darted.
On Saturday, the elephant once again came to the herbal gardens in Bhadrakali where the three elephants from Corbett were being kept. It interacted with them and started eating the sugarcane kept there. The department team darted the tusker right there. It took more than half-an-hour for the elephant to be sedated completely.
Conservator of forests, Bhagirathi circle, Surendra Mohan Joshi, said the tranquilised elephant was loaded onto a truck and relocated to the Chilla range of Rajaji National Park. The tips of its tusks were filed off as this makes the beast docile until the tips grow back. National park staff has been requested to keep an eye on the movements of the tusker.
The tusker said to have been responsible for five human deaths in the forests of Rishikesh was finally located, tranquilised and rehabilitated on Saturday. The Uttarakhand Forest Department succeeded in doing the job after more than a couple of failed attempts over the past one-and-a-half months. The pachyderm has now been relocated to the Chilla range of the Rajaji National Park.
Believed to have been responsible for five human deaths in the forests of Shivpuri and Rishikesh ranges, the elephant killed the driver of an MLA on November 8. This triggered protests among the locals leading to the Chief Wildlife Warden issuing an order for termination of the pachyderm but, following protests by wildlife activists, the department decided to first try to tranquilise and relocate the tusker.
Three tame cow elephants were brought from the Corbett National Park to assist in the operation. The tusker got attracted to these elephants though it ended up attacking and injuring one of them. For more than a month, the department tried to tranquilise the beast. Rangers darted it three times but every time the elephant escaped to an inaccessible or hidden location after being darted.
On Saturday, the elephant once again came to the herbal gardens in Bhadrakali where the three elephants from Corbett were being kept. It interacted with them and started eating the sugarcane kept there. The department team darted the tusker right there. It took more than half-an-hour for the elephant to be sedated completely.
Conservator of forests, Bhagirathi circle, Surendra Mohan Joshi, said the tranquilised elephant was loaded onto a truck and relocated to the Chilla range of Rajaji National Park. The tips of its tusks were filed off as this makes the beast docile until the tips grow back. National park staff has been requested to keep an eye on the movements of the tusker.
