Udupi: A 12-year-old wild elephant that had been terrorising residents in Siddapur, Hosangadi, and Kamalashile areas of Udupi district for the past three days was successfully captured by the forest department on Thursday evening. The male elephant, which had been fitted with a radio collar during a previ-ous translocation from Hassan to the Bhadra Tiger Reserve, had strayed in-to human settlements after getting separated from its herd. The intrusion disrupted normal life in the region, prompting precautionary closures of schools and colleges, while shops downed shutters by 6:30 pm daily.

A massive operation involving around 150 personnel was launched by the forest department to track and capture the tusker. The team comprised offi-cials from the Kudremukh Wildlife Division, local forest staff, and the Ele-phant Task Force from Chikkamagaluru.

Three trained elephants from the Sakrebail Elephant Camp in Shivamogga were deployed to assist in control-ling the wild animal. Using signals from the elephant’s radio collar, the team was able to monitor its movements throughout Thursday afternoon. A tranquiliser dose of 1.2 ml was administered, which took effect within 20 minutes, allowing the team to safely capture the animal.