Bhubaneswar: After a special operation over the last two days, Forest department officials successfully tranquilised an elephant named Palank that had been causing panic in Bhubaneswar.
The operation, carried out in the Bharatpur forest near Chandaka on the outskirts of the capital city lasted two days and ended on Tuesday night with the fitting of a radio collar to track the animal’s movements in real time.
Teams under the supervision of the Chandaka Divisional Forest Officer (DFO) launched the operation after repeated reports of the tusker straying into human habitation and triggering fear among residents in the city.
Officials said the elephant was carefully tranquilised after hours of monitoring and strategic planning to ensure minimal risk to both the animal and the forest perosnnel involved.
Once immobilised, the tusker was fitted with a radio collar, a device that will allow authorities to track its movements continuously. This technology is expected to play a crucial role in reducing human-elephant conflict, which has been a recurring issue in the Bhubaneswar region.
The monitoring of the tusker will now be jointly handled by the Chandaka Forest Division and the Bhubaneswar Rapid Response Team (RRT).
