In Shivamogga, a team from the Sakrebailu elephant camp captured a wild elephant troubling farmers in Chapagaon village, Khanapur, Belagavi, after a 300km journey. Assisted by trained elephants—Sagar, Balanna, Bahadur, and Somanna—the rescue team successfully secured the ten-year-old tusker.
Instead of releasing the elephant into its natural habitat near Dandeli, the forest department transported it to Shivamogga and confined it in a kraal. Environmentalists questioned this decision, attributing it to political pressure. Joseph Hoover, an environmentalist and former State Wildlife Board member, criticized the move. He explained that the tusker, separated from its herd, had peacefully adapted to sugarcane fields. Foresters had hoped it would rejoin a herd in the Dandeli-Kali Tiger Reserve, home to 30 elephants. However, the animal was captured under political influence.
Chief Conservator of Forests KT Hanumanthappa stated the relocation followed senior directives and aimed to train the elephant, citing its disruption in Khanapur.
Locals, including Naveen from Purudal village near Shettihalli sanctuary, expressed frustration, claiming foresters ignored crop damage caused by wandering herds while investing heavily to capture a distant elephant.
The relocation highlights growing tension between human-wildlife conflict management and political interference, sparking debate on ethical conservation practices.
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