After an intensive two-day operation, forest officials successfully tranquilised a tusker named ‘Palank’ in the Bharatpur forest on the outskirts of Bhubaneswar. The elephant has now been fitted with a radio collar to enable close monitoring of its movements and prevent it from straying into human settlements again.
The operation was conducted under the supervision of the Divisional Forest Officer (DFO) of the Chandaka-Dampara Wildlife Sanctuary. Teams from the Chandaka Forest Division and the Bhubaneswar Rapid Response Team (RRT) jointly carried out the tranquilisation and collaring exercise.
According to forest officials, the radio collar will help track the tusker’s real-time location and analyse its movement patterns. The data collected will allow authorities to take timely preventive action if the elephant approaches residential areas.
Over the past few days, Palank had repeatedly ventured into populated localities of the capital city, triggering panic among residents. The tusker’s presence near habitation zones had raised concerns about possible human-elephant conflict, especially during nighttime hours.
Officials stated that tranquilising and collaring the elephant was necessary to ensure the safety of both residents and the animal. With continuous monitoring now in place, forest authorities aim to guide the tusker safely back into deeper forest areas and minimise further conflict.
