After long search, rogue elephant PT-7 tranquilised in Kerala

A wild elephant, which has been wreaking havoc in a few villages in Keralas Palakkad district for the past two years, was tranquilised by a forest department team on Sunday morning.

The elephant, code-named Palakkad Tusker-7 (PT-7), roaming inside the forest at Dhoni and neighbouring villages in the district was found by the Rapid Response Team after a search that went on for several hours.

A team led by chief veterinary surgeon, Dr Arun Zachariah, tranquilised the wild elephant around 7 am.

Forest officials brought kumki elephants (elephants used to trap and train their wild counterparts) to guide the rogue jumbo into a truck to shift it to a secured place in the district.

Kerala Forest Minister A K Saseendran hailed the officials involved in the adventurous operation.

“The forest officials did a commendable job in capturing the wild elephant. The animal was wreaking havoc the people of the Dhoni and neighbouring villages near forest in Palakkad,” Saseendran told

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