The Forest Department staff successfully fixed radio collars on two female wild elephants on Monday, November 27. Meanwhile, the radio collar fixed to another female elephant earlier fell off.
The department is conducting an operation in parts of Belur in Hassan to radio-collar nine elephants and capture five trouble-causing elephants. The team, which includes senior officers, veterinarians, watchers, guards, and caretakers of elephants, succeeded in capturing two female elephants near Madaghatta and fixing radio collars.
D. Mohan Kumar, Deputy Conservator of Forests, told The Hindu that on the first day of the operation, it was radio-collared successfully. “Somehow the radio collar fell off the animal. The instrument was found, and the same had been fixed on another animal,” he said.
On the second day (Saturday) of the operation, the staff captured a tusker for translocation. “Today, we radio-collared two more female elephants. For tomorrow, we are planning to capture a tusker for translocation,” the officer said.
The radio collars are fixed on the elephants so that their movements can be tracked. The staff members identify the female elephants that lead the herds to fix radio collars, with which the movement of the herds can be tracked.
The officer said that each radio collar costs around ₹5 lakh. The team could trace the fallen-off instrument and recover it. “We will again capture the female elephant, which lost its radio collar, and fix the instrument,” the officer said.
The operation is expected to continue up to December 15. Many wild elephants have been roaming in parts of Alur, Belur, and Sakaleshpur taluks, leaving the locals in fear. The farmers have been complaining to the government about wild animals damaging the crops.
