Palamaner: An elephant that was on the rampage for the last three years after losing all members of its herd in a highway accident, was finally captured in the Chittoor district of Andhra Pradesh.
It would attack villages, raiding crops, attacking livestock and terrorising villagers in the Palamaner forest division. The pachyderm has now been sent to an elephant camp for veterinary and behavioural assessments.
The animal would also chase people, particularly those on two wheelers.
Officials said that the animal was “grieving”, due to which its behaviour grew unpredictable and potentially dangerous to people as well as to itself.
Forest department officials said that the sub-adult tusker was originally part of a herd of four, including two sub-adult males, one female, and a calf. On the night of June 14, 2023, a speeding truck rammed into the herd while the elephants were crossing the Bengaluru-Chennai National Highway (NH-4) near Palamaner. Three elephants died, but this one escaped without any injuries, as reported by The Indian Express.
“This elephant lost its herd and became a grieving, solitary animal. Since the tragedy, it has frequently returned to the area where the accident occurred, crossing the NH-4 at unpredictable times. It became a threat not only to people on the highway, but also to itself as the possibility of another accident was high,” R Yashoda Bai, conservator of forests, Anantapur Circle, told the newspaper.
“It was not eating properly, chewing up garbage and trash, and its health was deteriorating. Villagers were also complaining about it. It had to be rescued,” she added.
The movement and activities of the animal were being constantly monitored by the forest department. Considerable resources were spent over the last three years to keep it and the people who live in the area safe, officials said.
Several people have had narrow escapes after coming in close contact with the elephant. On one occasion, the animal fell on top of S Sukumar, section officer, Palamaner Forest Division.
“I thought I was going to die. Imagine an elephant falling on you,” he said, recalling the incident.
This happened on September 13, 2025, when the elephant was aggressively pursuing vehicles and people on NH-4. Sukumar and forest department tracker B Hari were trying to drive the elephant away when, even though it initially ran towards the forest, it suddenly turned around and charged at the duo.
The elephant slipped and fell on Sukumar in the subsequent chase. After a few minutes, the confused elephant found its footing, stood up and ran away. A seriously injured Sukumar was admitted to a hospital and spent weeks recovering. Months later, this week, he took part in the operation to capture the animal.
It was a high-tech operation, with drones and thermal sensor cameras being used to monitor the elephant continuously, confirm its identity, study its behaviour, map its movement pattern, and identify suitable capture sites.
It took months of monitoring and planning to capture the elephant safely, G Subburaj, district forest officer, Chittoor, said.
“This young elephant would have been happy and safe with its herd. Instead, it was lonely and disoriented with frequent mood swings,” he said.
The animal displayed aggression towards humans, but fled when approached by forest guards or trackers on “kumki” elephants – trained captive elephants used to capture or rescue wild elephants.
“We realised that it ran away because these (kumki) elephants were older and bigger. When we used young elephants of the same age as this elephant, it approached and tried to be friendly. It appeared that the young kumki elephants were trying to console him. This helped a lot in planning and managing the operation to capture it,” Yashoda Bai said.
After detailed examination of the field situation, permission was granted by the principal chief conservator of forests (wildlife) and the chief wildlife warden,vto capture the elephant under the provisions of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972.
The forest department then constituted an advisory committee, field capture team, veterinary teams, tracking teams, logistics teams and communication teams. Using drones and thermal sensor cameras, continuous monitoring of the elephant was undertaken to confirm its identity, study its behaviour, map its movement pattern, and identify suitable capture sites.
Officials said that risk assessments were carried out to identify safe darting locations, emergency evacuation routes and transportation logistics. Simultaneously, coordination meetings were held with the police, revenue, health, animal husbandry, fire services and other departments to ensure seamless support during the operation.
A decision was also taken to deploy five trained kumki elephants from the Musalimadugu Elephant Camp, where elephants are trained.
The animal was finally captured near Palamaner, not far from where it lost its herd. The whole operation cost nearly Rs 5 lakh.
The captured animal was then transported to Musalimadugu Elephant Camp, where it will remain under veterinary observation and a behavioural assessment will be carried out.
The state’s deputy chief minister and minister for forests and environment, K Pawan Kalyan, praised the operation and commended the forest department for balancing public safety with wildlife conservation.
