‘Kabra’ elephant evades capture, joins herd of 17
The rogue elephant, known as 'Kabra', joined a herd of 17 elephants after a fierce overnight confrontation with the herd's lead bull in the Sayar forest.
Ambikapur | Correspondent: The rogue elephant, known as 'Kabra', joined a herd of 17 elephants after a fierce overnight confrontation with the herd's lead bull in the Sayar forest. The herd moved to the Kusuwamuda forest early Saturday morning, prompting the Forest Department to intensify its operation to capture the elephant, which has been blamed for 19 deaths over the past six months.
Following the elephant's movement, high alerts have been issued across half a dozen villages in the Udaipur region, as 'Kabra' has been terrorising residents of Surajpur and Surguja districts. As a precautionary measure, the Education Department has also declared a holiday for 17 schools in Kudar Baswar, Sayar, Sattimuda, Kumdeva and Sukharibhandar villages.
The Forest Department has cordoned off the affected area and issued strict instructions asking villagers not to venture into nearby forests.
On Saturday morning, after the herd entered the Kusuwamuda forest, forest officials deployed two trained 'kumki' elephants into the dense forest to assist in the capture operation. The department plans to tranquilise 'Kabra' with a dart once he is located, while drone cameras are being used to monitor the herd in real time.
A team of wildlife experts, including Dr. PK Chandan and Dr. Jaykishore Jadiya, who were specially summoned from Bilaspur, is stationed at the site with the necessary medicines and equipment for the tranquilisation operation.
The operation entered its second consecutive day on Saturday. On Friday, the first day of the operation, 'Kabra' remained inside the dense Sayar forest and could not be located for capture.
Meanwhile, the elephant's movement into the herd followed a fierce confrontation with its lead bull on Friday night. After an overnight fight, 'Kabra' defeated the lead bull, drove it away from the group and joined the herd.
Earlier, the Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (Wildlife) had granted administrative permission only to fit the elephant with a radio collar. However, following incidents on Wednesday and Thursday in the Premnagar and Udaipur areas, where 'Kabra' trampled two women to death and critically injured another, the department decided to capture the elephant and relocate it to a rescue centre.
