In a significant operation, the Tamil Nadu Forest Department successfully tranquilized and captured a wild elephant in O’Valley, Gudalur, on Tuesday afternoon. This particular elephant has been at the center of numerous challenging human-elephant interactions in the region for over a decade.
The operation saw the tusker, affectionately known as ‘Radhakrishnan’ by local residents, darted at Ellamalai. With the crucial assistance of trained kumki elephants, the animal was safely guided onto a truck. Officials have stated that Radhakrishnan will be transported to a specially constructed kraal (an elephant shelter) located within the core area of the Mudumalai Tiger Reserve (MTR). The aim is to hold the elephant there for a period of time, allowing for behavioral modification before a potential release back into the wild.
Local residents have attributed as many as 12 human deaths over the past ten years to this elephant. However, Forest Department officials and wildlife conservationists offer a more conservative estimate, placing the number of fatalities between three and six. This discrepancy highlights the complex and often difficult coexistence between human settlements and elephant migratory paths in the O’Valley area of the Gudalur forest division.
The O’Valley area is predominantly inhabited by Sri Lankan repatriates who were resettled by the government to work on tea estates in the Nilgiris, adding another layer of complexity to the human-wildlife interface due to long-standing disputes over land status. The department hopes that this period of confinement and conditioning in the kraal will effectively deter the elephant from approaching human settlements and minimize future conflicts. The large-scale operation involved over 100 forest staff, four kumki elephants, and a team of experienced forest veterinarians.