Forest Department captures elephant that killed woman in Hassan

The Forest Department of Karnataka captured a tusker, which is said to be responsible for the death of a woman at Mugali village in Sakleshpur taluk on January 13. On January 16, forest department staff succeeded in sedating the animal and capturing it with the help of tamed elephants near Bellavara in Belur taluk.

The tusker, aged about 25 years, would be translocated from the area. It had recently entered the Hassan division, according to Forest Department officials.

Sourabh Kumar, DCF of Hassan, told the media on January 16 evening that the animal had been captured within 100 hours after the woman’s death. “The incident occurred on January 13. The same day, we wrote to the department seeking permission to capture it. The next day, we got the permission and began the preparations for the operation the same day. We decided to capture the animal after observing its conduct,” he said.

Shobha, 42, an agricultural labourer, was killed while she working in a plantation. The animal chased her for a few metres before trampling her to death, according to a witness. Her mother, who was also working in the plantation, managed to evade the animal. Earlier, the same elephant had chased another person.

“Observing its behaviour, we decided to capture it. Within a couple of days of entering the area, the animal had travelled across Sakleshpur, Alur and Belur ranges,” he said.

Even after being hit by a tranquilizer, the elephant continued to move around for some time, forcing the staff to track its movement with drones.

The DCF said a huge team of officials and the police were involved in the operation. The captured animal would be translocated based on the instructions from senior officers