Captured 'Dhoni' will make its return as 'kumki' elephant

PALAKKAD: PT 7 (Palakkad Tusker 7), which has been terrorizing the residential area of Dhoni for four years and killed one person seven months ago, was brought down with tranquilizer shots after 10 hours of hard work. The mission was led by Chief Forest Veterinary Surgeon Dr Arun Zacharia. Forest Minister AK Saseendran also named the elephant 'Dhoni' after the name of the area where the tusker created trouble. After training, Dhoni aka PT-7 will return as a kumki elephant.

The tusker was captured after two tranquilizer shots and another booster dose of sedative. The animal is now kept in a special cage made of 140 eucalyptus trees at the Dhoni Forest Station camp. PT-7 was guided and pushed into a lorry with helps from kumkis Surendran, Bharathan and Vikram and then taken to the forest station, which is seven kilometres away. A team of veterinarians will monitor the tusker for the next 24 hours. There were 76 people in the mission team including 26 officials who came from Wayanad.

PT 7

1. The name of the captured elephants as per the forest department record is PT 7. This tusker usually doesn't form bonds with other elephants for long

2. The animal trampled a man named Shivaraman to death on July 8, 2022

To become a kumki

The forest department captures and tames elephants through special training to make them kumkis. They are caged for three months. Training will be given once it is sure that the animal doesn't display aggressiveness. A mahout will be appointed for this. Food items including jaggery, ragi, rice and dates will be served to the tusker. It will also be given medical treatment. The main mission of the kumkis is to suppress the wild elephants that trouble human settlements.

The mission

3.45 am Mission team receives information that the tusker is spotted near Korma in Mundoor

4.50 am The mission team leaves from the camp in Dhoni

5.30 am The elephant being monitored at Korma

7.03 Tusker darted and falls into sedation and its legs are tied with a rope

8.00 p.m Second tranquilizer shot. Kumkis brought to the forest

9.00 p.m The elephant's face is covered with a black cloth

11.00 p.m Attempts are made to load the elephant into the lorry

11.40 Booster dose as elephant begins to recover from sedation. The animals is then loaded into a lorry

12.30 p.m The tusker is brought to the Forest Station Camp in Dhoni

1.20 PT 7 is caged in special kraal of forest department