A ‘rogue’ elephant named after deceased Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden has finally been tracked down and caught after it trampled and killed five people in a village rampage in India.
Officials confirmed Monday that the menacing elephant, dubbed ‘Laden’ by locals, had been captured by wildlife officers after a major search operation in the northeastern state of Assam, AFP reports.
‘Laden’ was tracked for days through forest land using drones and domesticated elephants. “Two darts were fired by experts which had tranquilised the male elephant," a senior forestry official told the news agency.
"Now the work is on to shift the elephant to a forest where there is no human habitation nearby,” the expert said
Officials assured that the elephant’s welfare and the welfare of anyone living nearby would be taken into account when deciding where to relocate the animal after its 24-hour rampage through the Goalpara district which left five people dead.
In 2006, authorities in India claimed to have killed an elephant dubbed 'Laden,' but critics argued that it was the wrong animal that was brought down.
Also on rt.com Just elephants on a stroll: Giant beasts grazing in a Siberian town leave locals in awe (VIDEO)Figures released in June showed that almost 2,300 people have been killed by elephants in India over the past five years. The figures also showed that elephant numbers have been decreasing due in part to declining natural habitats, prompting them to migrate into areas with higher human populations and increasing the numbers of fatal incidents.
Elephants are also poisoned or shot by locals, while some have met their end on railway tracks or electric fences.
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