Rogue 'Laden' elephant gets new name and new 'job' after being caught
CGTN

An elephant that killed five Indian villagers, earning it the moniker of the late Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, has been renamed after the Hindu god Krishna and will be trained to patrol parks, officials said Tuesday.

00:39

Wildlife officers tracked the male elephant – dubbed "Laden" by the locals it menaced in northeastern Assam state – through a forest for several days using drones and domesticated elephants. It was tranquilized on Monday after its deadly 24-hour rampage through Goalpara district in late October, in which the animal killed five people, including three women. 

"We started the final leg of the operation today...Two darts were fired by experts which had tranquilized the male elephant," a senior forestry official told AFP about the massive operation to hunt down "Laden."

An elephant lies on the ground after been tranquilized by villagers as it killed five people, in Rongjuli forest division in Western Assam's Goalpara district on November 11, 2019. /VCG Photo /VCG Photo

An elephant lies on the ground after been tranquilized by villagers as it killed five people, in Rongjuli forest division in Western Assam's Goalpara district on November 11, 2019. /VCG Photo /VCG Photo

Officials planned to released "Laden" back into the wild, but now hope to teach it to patrol wildlife parks and sanctuaries in the state.

"The elephant is doing fine. If possible we would try to turn it into a captive elephant by training it," Assam's Forest Minister Parimal Shuklabaidya said.

An official said that because the elephant was caught on Monday, an auspicious day when Krishna performed a "dance of divine love", he should be named after the deity.

"Since it is tranquilized and is likely to be captive, it deserves a better name for everyone to know it," the official added.

A tranquilized wild Indian elephant that killed five villagers during a 24-hour rampage before being caught is lifted up with a crane as it is transported in Rongjuli forest division in western Assam's Goalpara district on November 12, 2019. /VCG Photo

A tranquilized wild Indian elephant that killed five villagers during a 24-hour rampage before being caught is lifted up with a crane as it is transported in Rongjuli forest division in western Assam's Goalpara district on November 12, 2019. /VCG Photo

The pachyderm is set to be kept at the state zoo in Guwahati as it recovers from being tranquilized, before being shifted to a national park "for training" with two other captive elephants.

"However, if we fail in taming it and training it, we would have to release it in a safe zone where it cannot harm civilians," Shuklabaidya said.

The elephant named after Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden that killed five Indian villagers has been tranquilized and lifted up with a crane after a massive operation to locate it, officials said on November 11. /VCG Photo

The elephant named after Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden that killed five Indian villagers has been tranquilized and lifted up with a crane after a massive operation to locate it, officials said on November 11. /VCG Photo

Nearly 2,300 people have been killed by elephants in India over the last five years, according to official figures released in June, while 700 elephants have been killed since 2011 – figures resulting in part from shrinking natural habitats.

Elephants frequently migrate into Goalpara, resulting in high numbers of fatal encounters with humans amid rampant deforestation.

Some elephants there have been poisoned or shot by locals, while others have died on electric fences or on railways cutting through migration routes.

(Cover photo is a still shot from AFP video)

(If you want to contribute and have specific expertise, please contact us at nature@cgtn.com.)

Source(s): AFP