In December 2020, the Tamil Nadu State Forest Department found a broken tusk of a wild elephant in Gudalur in the Nilgiris. The ‘brash’ elephant nicknamed as ‘Shankar’ was said to have trampled three people to death.
Soon a search operation was launched to tranquilise and capture the elephant. However, it escaped into Kerala’s Nilambur forest, mixing with another herd. ‘Shankar’ was spotted again in Tamil Nadu on February 3, 2021. Another massive search operation was launched.
The search team included four trained 'kumki' elephants, forest veterinary officers and other veterinarians. Officers kept a strict vigil to ensure the elephant didn't stay into nearby villages. Shankar was almost caught, but escaped into the forest again on February 10. Two days later, Shankar was successfully darted.
