THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Normal life was thrown out of gear in Mananthavady town of Wayanad District in Kerala on Friday after a wild elephant strayed into thickly populated areas of the township creating panic among the people.
The elephant named “Thaneer” which was radio-collared by the Karnataka Forests Department more than a fortnight ago, was released in Nagarhole National Park on January 17. Forest officials are yet to figure out how it reached Mananthavady.
With the elephant moving around in the thickly populated areas of the township, Wayanad district collector Dr Renu Raj clamped prohibitory orders in Mananthavady municipality and Edavaka panchayat to prevent any untoward incident.
The district administration directed the children who had arrived in schools this morning to continue on their campuses, while those on their way to education institutions, were asked to return and stay put in their houses.
People have been asked to stay away from the town and avoid travelling. Restrictions have also been imposed on vehicle movement in the area.
The elephant was first spotted by dairy farmers early Friday morning who informed the forest and police officials in the area.
After eight hours, the Kerala forest department issued orders to tranquilise the wild elephant. The authorities have asked to explore the possibility of using Kumki elephants to drive the tusker to the nearby forest. If that fails, then the elephant will have to be tranquillized, captured and released in Bandipur forest in Karnataka.
Since the elephant is in a densely populated area, it is difficult to scare away using firecrackers and chase towards the forest which is several kilometres away. Hence the authorities have decided to go for the tranquilizer option.
The Rapid Response (RR) teams of forest are ready to tranquilise the 20-year-old elephant.
The elephant has not caused any harm to humans, vehicles or houses much to the relief of authorities. The forest officials have been keeping their fingers crossed since morning as the tusker has a history of attacking residential areas in the Hassan division of Karnataka.
