Missing captive elephant located after 15-hour search in Kothamangalam

The elephant named ‘Puthuppally Sadhu’ had panicked and fled to the nearby forest after being attacked by an elephant called ‘Thadathavila Manikandan

A captive elephant, which fled to the forest at Bhoothathankettu near Kothamangalam in Ernakulam district following a clash with another elephant at a film shooting location on Friday (October 4, 2024), was located on Saturday (October 5, 2024) after a 15-hour-long search.

The elephant named ‘Puthuppally Sadhu’ had panicked and fled to the nearby forest after being attacked by an elephant called ‘Thadathavila Manikandan’, while the animals were being moved into the trucks after the shooting of a Telugu film at Vadattpuara on Friday (October 4, 2024) evening. Though Manikandan had also entered the forest area, it returned to the shooting spot within a short span. But Sadhu did not return and the efforts to trace the jumbo were called off in the night.

It was resumed on Saturday (October 5, 2024) morning. The forest officials searched the forest area in four teams and traced the elephant dung nearly one kilometre away from the shooting spot. The mahouts joined the search operation as the elephant was spotted around 10 a.m.

A preliminary inspection by the forest officials found that the elephant had not suffered any injuries. The forest officials, along with the mahouts, provided food and water to the elephant. It was later brought to the Vadattupara area and transported to Puthupally in Kottayam district.

Published - October 05, 2024 04:30 pm IST