Elephant panics during Telugu film shoot in Kerala, found in forest after 12-hour search

The 57-year-old elephant, Puthuppally Sadhu, was located more than 12 hours later, officials reported. The search was delayed on Friday evening due to poor visibility in the forest, making it challenging to track the elephant, according to a senior forest official.

Kochi: A male elephant brought for a Telugu movie shoot panicked during the filming after another tusker bumped into it from behind and ran into the nearby forest near Kothamangalam here a day ago, forest officials said on Saturday.

The elephant was found more than 12 hours later from the forest, officials said.

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The 57-year-old elephant, Puthuppally Sadhu, could not be found on Friday as the incident occurred close to evening and it was difficult to search for it in the forest due to bad visibility, a senior forest official said.

“The incident occurred around 4.30 pm on Friday as the shoot was coming to an end and another elephant bumped into this one (Sadhu) from behind. It (Sadhu) got scared and ran into the forest.

“We searched the forest till bad light and poor visibility forced us to discontinue it. We commenced search operations Saturday morning and found the elephant,” he said.

The tusker was given food and water and brought out of the forest safely, the official said.

“There are no visible signs of any injury on the elephant and it appears to be healthy. It will undergo a medical examination,” the official said.