After long search, rogue elephant PT-7 tranquilised in Kerala

A wild elephant, which has been wreaking havoc in a few villages in Kerala’s Palakkad district for the past two years, was tranquilised by a forest department team on Sunday morning.

The elephant, code-named Palakkad Tusker-7 (PT-7), roaming inside the forest at Dhoni and neighbouring villages in the district was found by the Rapid Response Team after a search that went on for several hours.

A team led by chief veterinary surgeon, Dr Arun Zachariah, tranquilised the wild elephant around 7 am.

Forest officials brought kumki elephants (elephants used to trap and train their wild counterparts) to guide the rogue jumbo into a truck to shift it to a secured place in the district.

Kerala Forest Minister A K Saseendran hailed the officials involved in the adventurous operation.

”The forest officials did a commendable job in capturing the wild elephant. The animal was wreaking havoc the people of the Dhoni and neighbouring villages near forest in Palakkad,” Saseendran told PTI. The minister said the elephant will be shifted to a cage.

He said the forest department will monitor the health of the tusker at the cage set up near Dhoni and take further action regarding its rehabilitation.

”It might take at least six months to tame an elephant. We have to prepare a proper diet for the animal and train it,” Saseendran said.

Last July, a 60-year-old man, who went for a morning stroll with his fellow walkers, was trampled to death by PT-7 at Dhoni.

Forest officials captured the wild elephant which has been raiding their farmlands and residential areas over the past few months.