The wild elephant known as Palakkad Tusker-5, or PT-5. (file image)
| Photo Credit: K K Mustafah
A special taskforce tasked with the capture of the visually impaired wild tusker codenamed PT-5 (Palakkad Tusker-5) at Kanjikode in Palakkad, Kerala, managed to tranquilise the animal on Friday (August 8, 2025) morning.
The 15-member team, led by Arun Zachariah, Chief Veterinary Surgeon of Department of Forests, with the help of two Kumki elephants Vikram and Bharat, are making efforts to bring PT-5 out of the forests so that it could be provided appropriate treatment.
The elephant has been creating a ruckus at Kanjikode and nearby areas for some time. The Department of Forests has been observing PT-5 and noticed that the elephant had issues with its sight on both its eyes. The reason for the blindness is unknown and is suspected to be either due to illness, rubber bullets or other hard objects hitting its eye. Hence the decision to offer it medical treatment.
The STF plans to send it back to the forests after medication if the injury is not serious. However, it will be moved to the base camp of the Forest department if it would require surgery or expert treatment.
Published – August 08, 2025 12:39 pm IST
