Bhubaneswar: A tense and gruelling 36-hour operation to relocate a wild tusker responsible for multiple human casualties in Odisha finally came to a close on Friday morning.
The elephant, which had been kept bound on a specialised truck for a day and a half, was successfully moved to Kanchinda Wildlife Rescue Centre under Talaband Range at Bangiriposi in Mayurbhanj district.
However, the cross-district journey witnessed tension situation when local villagers opposed the efforts to release the elephant at Satkosia wildlife range office in Karanjia division on Thursday. As a result, the tusker remained stuck in the special vehicle ‘Airabat’, in which it was transported from Angul Sadar range.
The forest department had picked Karanjia-Satkosia range forest for its vast and dense canopy.
Fearing that the tusker would continue its destructive behaviour, ruin their standing crops, and kill more people, hundreds of local villagers gathered to violently protest the release. Demonstrators went as far as locking up the main gates of the local forest range office, flatly refusing to allow the elephant to leave the truck.
The 300-km Odyssey
Stuck in a deadlock, the forest officials had no choice but to keep the elephant on the vehicle while scrambling for an alternative containment zone.
The truck was forced to take a massive detour across the state. Driven carefully by a specialized driver to avoid injuring the animal, the truck traveled over 300 km, navigating a route that stretched from Angul through Keonjhar, Anandapur, Bhadrak, and Balasore, before finally heading toward Baripada and Bangiriposi.
In total, the wild tusker spent nearly 36 to 40 hours confined to the back of the moving transport truck.
Throughout the exhausting cross-state journey, forest personnel continuously sprayed the elephant with water to combat intense summer heat waves. Ground teams also fed the animal water and ripe mangoes to prevent dehydration.
Local veterinary doctors are currently conducting comprehensive medical assessments to stabilise the elephant.
A History of Terror
According to forest department officials, the tusker had created an atmosphere of terror for nearly three years in Angul district. The elephant was reportedly responsible for the deaths of around seven people, alongside destroying local crops, damaging homes, and attacking villagers. Local residents had long been demanding immediate intervention to safeguard their lives and properties.
Responding to the growing crisis, the forest department initiated a massive tracking operation on June 3. After 12 to 14 hours of continuous effort, a specialised team successfully tranquilised the elephant in Angul and loaded it onto a dedicated forest department transport truck, named Airabat.
