Killer elephant tranquilised, brought under control

Putting an end to panic among villagers, Forest department officials today tranquilised an elephant which had killed two estate workers and then tied it with ropes and chains.
Officials had been taking efforts for some days to trap the elephant, which had killed the two workers on a single day recently at Mango Range near Pandalur, about 80 km from here, in Nilgiris District, forest department officials said.
They had fired a tranquiliser yesterday on another elephant, besides spotting the one-tusk pachyderm.
With the help of four kumkis (tamed elephants) brought from Theppakadu elephant camp, the one-tusk elephant was surrounded and a tranquiliser was shot at it around 5.30 PM today, veterinarian Dr Vijayaraghavan said.

Later, the semi-conscious jumbo was chained and tied with a rope, curtailing its movement, he said.
Dr Vijayaraghavan said the department planned to take the pachyderm to a camp some 50 km away and were awaiting orders from higher officials and also for the roads to be cleared so that a lorry to transport the animal could be brought here.