Ramnagar: A tusker targeted to be captured by the Corbett Tiger Reserve officials on Tuesday died after getting shot with tranquilizer.
The 30-year-old pachyderm was shot with a tranquilising agent in the forest at the Reserve on Monday after the locals alleged that the elephant created havoc in the human habitat as it frequently visited the highway and its adjoining areas.
The elephant was fitted with a GPS (Global Positioning System) enabled Radio Collar to enable officers to track its movement.
"Primary investigation suggests that the tusker died after being tranquilised. However, it would be too early to comment on the entire matter. We have sent the body for the autopsy. We can draw a conclusion after the final post-mortem result arrives," an official said.
According to locals, the elephant used to roam around the village area and obstruct the movement of vehicles. At times, huts and various properties of the villagers were also damaged by the jumbo. This led to an increase in the man-animal conflict, triggering panic in the area.
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"We received various complaints from the villagers that the tusker would wander in the village and teardown properties. Crops were also damaged. So, we decided to tranquilise the animal, and to track its movement a GPS enabled gadget was also fit. The pachyderm was on our target for long but we were able to tranquilise it yesterday," a forest official added.
Talking to ETV Bharat, Rahul Kumar, Director of Corbett Tiger Reserve said, "The tusker was engaged in a conflict with another elephant following which the former was fitted with a radio collar. A deep wound was found on the jumbo's body."
However, if hearsays are to be believed, an overdose of tranquiliser killed the jumpo and the Reserve officials are trying to cover up the truth.
