Foresters continue to look for killer elephant in Kodagu

Madikeri: The forest department has continued its efforts to capture a wild elephant that is believed to have trampled to death the wife of a senior IPS officer recently at Konanakatte village in South Kodagu.

The department is using drone cameras with little success. A group of elephants was fitted with radio collars, and the movement of the elephants was monitored.

Four teams of the department conducted the operation for two days but could not locate the jumbo, foresters said. The operation was conducted in the forest area adjacent to the grower’s estate in Konanakatte area, where the incident took place last week.

On Day 1, five elephants from the Mathigodu elephant camp participated in the operation. These jumbos, which operated until early evening, returned to the camp in the evening. Many staff members participated in the presence of officials, including Gangadhar of the Thithimathi forest range and Devaraj of Wildlife. The operation continued on Monday.

Meanwhile, jumbos have camped in various estates of Andagove village in Kushalnagar taluk. An operation to drive them out was launched under the jurisdiction of Athur forest division of Kushalnagar range.