Forest Officials Rescue ‘Makhna’ ElephantForest Officials Rescue ‘Makhna’ Elephant Forest officials in Bengaluru have successfully rescued a “Makhna” (tuskless male elephant) that had caused conflicts with locals, resulting in three casualties. The Makhna elephant was located in a valley and darted by a sharpshooter. After collapsing under the influence of drugs, veterinarians revived it. With the assistance of trained elephants, a crane, and a truck, the elephant was transported to the Seegekatte elephant camp for rehabilitation. Officials are now searching for and preparing to capture a second elephant, known as “Koli,” also known to be in the area. Koli will be fitted with a radio collar before being released back into the forest. Chief game warden and chief conservator of forests (wildlife) Subhash Malkhede praised the successful operation and emphasized the ongoing efforts to capture the Koli elephant. He explained that once captured, Koli will be equipped with a radio collar for better monitoring. The rescued Makhna elephant is currently housed in a wooden pen at the Seegekatte elephant camp.
BENGALURU: Forest officials on Monday successfully rescued a ‘Makhna’ (tuskless male elephant) that had come into conflict with locals, resulting in three casualties in recent times. Under pressure to capture and translocate the Makhna and Koli jumbo, BNP officials successfully rescued the Makhna and are on the hunt to rescue and radio-collar the Koli elephant in BNP.
With a plan to capture and rescue the Makhna elephant, the BNP officials, led by Deputy Conservator of Forests (DCF) Prabhakar Priyadarshi, had made elaborate arrangements and even deployed a team of about 100 personnel, comprising veterinarians, sharpshooters and forest guards, along with eight trained elephants from Dubare and Mattigodu elephant camps in Kodagu. Determined to locate and capture the elephant, the BNP officials meticulously tracked the movements and presence of elephants in the forest for about a week.
After locating the Makhna elephant’s whereabouts on Monday morning, the officials, divided into eight groups, began the combing operation along with the trained elephants Bhima and Mahendra. After locating the Makhna elephant in a valley in the afternoon, sharpshooter Ranjan successfully shot the elephant from a distance. After running for about a kilometre, the Makhna elephant collapsed under the influence of drugs. Veterinarians Dr Kiran and Dr Ramesh quickly resuscitated the elephant. Elephant experts from Nagarahole Tiger Reserve, Ramesh and Wasim from Bandipur Tiger Reserve assisted in the operation.
Later, the Makhna elephant was brought out of its hiding place by Mahendra and Bhima elephants. With the help of the trained elephants and a crane, the Makhna elephant was loaded onto a truck and later rehabilitated at the Seegekatte elephant camp. Chief game warden and chief conservator of forests (wildlife) Subhash Malkhede told TOI that the operation was successful. “Our officials have captured the Makhna elephant and rehabilitated it at our camp at BNP. The operation will continue with the capture of the Koli elephant. He will be fitted with a radio collar before being released back into the forest,” he explained. The elephant has been kept in a wooden pen at the camp.
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