Karnataka: Elephant dies after being tranquillised, say officials

The operation, initiated a week ago, aimed to capture three elephants that had been attacking humans and causing distress in the Urubage gram panchayat limits of the Mudigere region

Bengaluru: A wild elephant died after being administered a tranquilliser dart during an operation to capture elephants in Mudigere taluk of Chikkamagaluru district in Karnataka on Saturday night, officials familiar with the matter said. The operation, initiated a week ago, aimed to capture three elephants that had been attacking humans and causing distress in the Urubage gram panchayat limits of the Mudigere region, officials added.

A wild elephant died after being administered a tranquilliser dart during an operation. (AFP)

The capture mission, carried out by veterinary experts with the help of nine department elephants, located the targeted elephants around 10 pm on Saturday and the veterinary doctors Mujeeb and Waseem administered the tranquilliser dart to them. However, one of the elephant collapsed after running for around 50 meters.

“The elephant was spotted at night, prompting the alerted operation team to administer the dart,” explained Chikkamagaluru deputy conservator of forests (DCF) Ramesh Babu to HT. “Since we had been searching for this elephant for three days without success, we seized the opportunity to tranquillise it. Prima facie, the elephant’s trunk got stuck in the branches of two trees, which may be the reason for its death. However, the exact cause will be known after the autopsy report,” he added.

The elephant’s death has sparked outrage among wildlife enthusiasts and environmentalists. “The death of the elephant is caused by the utter negligence of forest officers. It is a violation of standard operating procedures [SOP],” Joseph Hoover, a Bengaluru-based environmentalist, criticised. Operations should not continue after sunset, but officials still darted the elephant, revealing their lack of experience and expertise in the operation, he pointed out.

Environmentalists have been urging the forest department to appoint dedicated veterinary experts for darting, rather than relying on inexperienced deputation doctors.

A week prior, during an operation in Mudigere Taluk, another elephant sustained injuries to its eyes and trunk, the DCF said. Despite this, the officials did not rectify their operation tactics, and the wounded elephant is currently undergoing treatment at the Sakrebailu elephant camp.

In response to the incident, environmentalists have prepared a memorandum, intending to submit it to the state government tomorrow. This unfortunate event follows a previous incident on November 22, where a wild elephant killed a staff member of the Elephant Task Force staff while attempting to chase away elephants in Byrapura, Mudigere taluk. Subsequently, villagers staged protests, leading the state government to order the capturing of three wild elephants.