The Forest Department completed the operation of fixing radio-collars on three female elephants that lead herds in Hassan district, on Tuesday evening. The staff, with the help of tamed elephants, captured two female elephants on Monday and one more on Tuesday for radio collaring.
The female elephants named Old Belt and Bhuvaneshwari were captured near Alur on Monday after firing tranquillizer darts. The radio-collar, fixed earlier on Old Belt, had become defunct. It was replaced with a new one. The radio collar fixed on Bhuvaneshwari was lost. Hence, both were radio-collared again.
On the second day (Tuesday), the staff spotted Kanthi, another female elephant, near Halasulige village in Sakleshpur and captured it with the help of tamed elephants. The staff had a tough task capturing the elephant. It did not stop, even after the tranquillizer dart was fired. Somehow the staff succeeded in capturing it by 4 p.m. and radio-collaring it.
“Kanthi has been radio-collared for the first time. As of now, we have radio-collared four female elephants, leading four herds. Besides them, we have radio-collared a makna (tuskless male elephant), popular among local people as “Old Makna”, as well. We keep tracking the movement of these elephants, so that the local public can be alerted”, said K. Harish, Deputy Conservator of Forests, Hassan, who led the operation. The department sends alerts via mobile phones to local public so that man-elephant encounters can be minimised.
Five tamed elephants – Abhimanyu, Prashantha, Ajeya, Vikram and Mahendra – who participate in the annual Dasara procession in Mysuru were involved in the operation. The elephants and their caretakers – Aane Kavadigas – would rest for the day on Wednesday. “We are planning to continue the operation on Thursday to capture the makna elephant, which has been causing trouble. However, we go ahead only if we get permission from the department,” the officer added.
Around 60–70 elephants, separated into different groups, roam in parts of Sakleshpur, Alur, Belur and Arkalgud taluks of Hassan district. They often raid agricultural lands and destroy crops. More than 70 people have died due to man-elephant conflict in the district in the last 10 years. The local people have been demanding that the State government capture all wild elephants and translocate them.