The Forest Department staff captured a tusker near Dodda Uduve estate near Arehalli in Belur taluk on Tuesday. The tusker would be relocated after being fixed with a radio-collar later in the day.
The department has been conducting an operation since Friday to radio-collar and capture wild elephants that have been roaming in parts of the Alur, Belur, Sakleshpur and Yeslur ranges of Hassan district. So far, it has succeeded in fixing radio-collars on three female elephants and capturing one tusker for relocation. However, one elephant got rid of the instrument that fell off it. On the fifth day of the operation, the team succeeded in capturing the second tusker.
D. Mohan Kumar, Deputy Conservator of Forests, informed the media on Tuesday, that the wild elephant with a single tusk was captured on an estate owned by Jaideep. “So far, we have fixed radio-collar collars for three elephants and relocated two tuskers. We appeal to people in the area to cooperate with the officials for the successful completion of the operation,” he said. A team of staff has been engaged in cautioning locals not to venture out in the areas where the operation is being executed.
The operation is being conducted with the help of tamed elephants. Chief Conservator of Forests R. Ravishankar, DCF Mohan Kumar, ACF Prabhu Gowda Eranagowda, ACF S.P. Mahadev, RFOs and other field staff, besides the caretakers of the tamed elephants, were involved in the operation.
