Stray tusker captured in Dharmapuri district

Dharmapuri: Forest officials captured a lone tusker which strayed into a village near Kadathur here on Saturday morning. It was later released deep into the Palacode forest.
Dharmapuri district forest officer (DFO) K Rajangam said a lone tusker had come out of the Hogenakkal forest around two weeks ago. The elephant raided standing crops in nearby villages, including Pennagaram.A few days ago, the same tusker was spotted close to Dharmapuri town. “We then chased the jumbo towards Thoppur forest,” the DFO said.
Forest officials were planning to chase the tusker into Palacode forest, which is closer to the Hogenakkal forest range. However, the elephant passed through Sillarahalli and Kodagarahalli villages, before halting at Mylapore village.
Forest officials who were monitoring the elephant noticed it raiding standing crops in Mylapore village around 1am on Saturday. Officials managed to tranquilise the elephant by firing two darts. “We transported it by truck and released it deep into the Palacode forest,” the DFO said.
He added that the elephant’s condition is stable and that forest personnel are continuing to closely monitor its movement.