Wild elephant ‘Dhrube’ released after fitted radio collar
CHITWAN:- Chitwan National Park has fitted the wild elephant ‘Dhrube’ with a radio collar. The elephant, which has claimed the lives of 25 people within the park and its buffer zone, was darted (immobilized with a sedative) before the radio collar was attached.
According to the park’s Information Officer, Abinash Thapa Magar, the elephant was darted and fitted with a satellite radio collar around its neck. Subsequently, its tusks were trimmed before it was released.
He stated that fitting the radio collar would allow for quick information regarding the elephant’s condition and enable the monitoring of its movements via GPS tracking.
A team comprising personnel from the Nepali Army’s Naya Gorakh Battalion—deployed for the park’s security—along with the park’s technical staff and technicians from the National Trust for Nature Conservation, fitted the radio collar on the elephant.
The National Park had intensified its search and monitoring efforts for the elephant after 25-year-old Ashika Bote and her four-year-old son, Bharat Bote, were killed in an attack by the same animal in Bharatpur-23 on the 20th of Asar, (July 4).
The National Park stated that adverse weather conditions and dense undergrowth delayed the effort to bring the elephant under control. It has urged local residents to remain vigilant, adhere to issued advisories, and immediately inform the concerned authorities if the wild elephant is sighted.
