COIMBATORE: The operation to tranquilize and radio collar wild tusker ‘Baahubali’ in the Mettupalayam forest range didn’t yield any results on Sunday, as it was dark and raining when the animal came out of the deep reserve forest and crossed Kotagiri Road.
D Venkatesh, district forest officer, had earlier told TOI that ‘Baahubali’ was sighted on a foothill and their plan was to tranquilize the tusker when the animal reached the plains or crossed Kotagiri Road.
He had made it clear that they wouldn’t start the operation until the tusker came out of the deep forest.
Another forest officer said, “Mettupalayam town witnessed heavy rain in the evening, forcing us to end the wait for the tusker.
Suddenly, the tusker ventured into the plains and crossed the Kotagiri Road around 6.30pm.
We couldn’t do anything.” The forest department, which is ready with five teams and three kumkis, would resume the operation that is codenamed ‘MP20T1’on Monday.
The tusker has been roaming around the Mettupalayam forest range for the past six months, often straying into human habitats and raiding farmlands.
The forest department, hence, decided to dart the tusker with sedatives and fix radio collar to track its movements.
The forest department’s frontline staff members have been monitoring the tusker for a week for the operation.
The teams comprising five veterinary officers and forest department officials started the operation to radio collar the tusker around 6am on Sunday.
They were ready with five guns to dart the tusker with sedatives.
“We camped at Vedar Colony at Mettupalayam, while the frontline staff members entered the reserve forest to monitor the tusker’s movement closely.
We were waiting for the tusker to come out of the deep forest for a chance to tranquilize the animal, but in vain,” said an officer involved in the operation.
The three kumkis – Kaleem, Mariappan and Venkatesh – were stationed at the government timber depot at Mettupalayam.
“They would be taken inside the forest after we tranquilize the tusker,” the officer said.
The district forest officer said ‘Baahubali’ was a very sensitive tusker and no one had approached the animal, the health condition of which is good.
He said after fixing the radio collar the tusker would be released into the forest.
“The radio collar will send out a signal, helping us track its movement.” Venkatesh said the frontline staff members were monitoring the elephant.
“A drone has also been deployed to monitor the elephant’s movement.”