Missing elephant Puthuppally Sadhu found in Kothamangalam after 15-hour search

Kothamangalam: The search for Puthuppally Sadhu comes to an end on Saturday morning, as the tusker was found in the reserve forest near the Thindam Forest Station in Kothamangalam.

The forest department team located Sadhu just 200 metres away from the road. Mahouts approached the elephant and offered it fruits and other food before guiding it out. Sadhu was then loaded onto a lorry and transported back home.

The captive elephant fled into the forest after a clash with another elephant during a film shoot on Friday. The elephant's mahouts and forest department officials initiated an extensive search effort on the same day to trace the injured animal, which escaped into the nearby forest. However, it had to be called off as night fell.

The two elephants picked up a fight around 5 pm on Friday here. While Manikandan, the elephant that fought with Puthuppally Sadhu, also retreated into the forest after the incident, it returned shortly. It had sustained only minor injuries.

Meanwhile, the film crew at the scene were terrified by the sight of the elephants clashing and immediately ran for their lives.

Three female elephants and two tuskers had been brought to the location for the movie shoot. Following the incident, the other elephants were swiftly transported from the site. The Telugu film production had been ongoing for a week in the Vadattupara area and its surroundings.