Haveri: A tusker that had strayed from the Western Ghats and was creating panic in Haveri district was finally ‘honeytrapped’ on Thursday. After 15 days of intensive combing operations, it was spotted at the Government Sheep Breeding Center near Guttal, off Haveri taluk, about 25 km from the district headquarters.
“Locals alerted us when they sighted the jumbo in Hangal taluk. We rushed to the Sheep Breeding Center at Kuragunda village with three elephants in tow,” said Haveri DCF Balakrishna.
“We have been trying to capture the 15-year-old young tusker from three days. On Wednesday, we used Bhanumati, a female elephant, to lure the tusker. On Thursday morning we found the two of them together. Our problem was solved thus, and so we called it a honeytrap,” said Mahesh Marennanvar, a range forest officer.
A team from the forest department along with the three elephants from Sakrebyle Elephant Camp, Shivamogga, rushed to the spot. It took them around an hour to get close to the tusker. The trained elephants then surrounded it. “We tranquilised it, and then put it in a truck to be shifted to Bhadra Tiger Reserve in Chikkamagaluru district. The radio collar that was around the jumbo’s neck was removed after its capture,” RFO Mahesh added.