Relief returned to Tirupattur town on Saturday as the two captured tuskers were safely released at Sanamavu Reserve Forest (RF) in Hosur on the fringes of the Cauvery South Wildlife Sanctuary along the Tamil Nadu-Karnataka border.
Tirupattur District Forest Officer (DFO) Naga Sathish Gidijala, who led the operation including the release of the tuskers into the wild, told The Hindu that a week-long uncertainty of the safety of residents, crops and elephants had come to an end. “Based on field reports, the tuskers are active and healthy. They are moving deep into the forests along the elephant corridor,” he said.
Tirupattur forest ranger M. Prabhu was part of the exercise. More than 100 forest officials from five forest divisions — Dharmapuri, Hosur, Tirupattur, Tiruvannamalai, Mudumalai Tiger Reserve (MTR) and Anamalai Tiger Reserve (ATR) — were involved, Mr. Gidijala said.
