COIMBATORE: A female wild elephant, found with an iron wire snare caught on its front left leg, was on Sunday tranquillised, treated and released back into the Sirumugai forest.The injured elephant was first spotted on Sept 2 during a patrol in the Uliyur beat near Pethikuttai block of the Nilgiri Eastern Slope Reserve Forest located within the Sirumugai range in Coimbatore district. Forest field staffers immediately alerted the district forest officer (DFO).Following approval of the principal chief conservator of forests and chief wildlife warden (Chennai) and instructions from field director of the Anamalai Tiger Reserve (ATR), a large-scale rescue operation was launched under the supervision of DFO, Coimbatore, along with forest range officers from Sirumugai and Periyanaickenpalayam.A dedicated team comprising five veterinary doctors from Anamalai and Sathyamangalam tiger reserves, 60 forest personnel, mahouts and a modern drone camera crew tracked the elephant continuously for over four days. On Sunday, the medical team successfully administered a tranquilliser dart to the elephant inside the forest, safely removed the iron wire, provided necessary medical treatment and monitored the recovery before releasing her back into her natural habitat in good health.District forest officer of Coimbatore said, “It looked like fence wire. The offence has been booked, and investigation has been started. Sathyamangalam forest officials have been intimated. We have arranged for a joint patrol this week.”
