Kalpetta: With the killer elephant of Erumakolly near Meppadi evading the search teams, the Forest Department is set to wrap up the search operations on Friday, which were launched after the tusker killed a 64-year-old man a week ago.

Arumukhan, a native of Poolakkunnu near Erumakolly, was on the way home when he was attacked by the animal on April 24. In response to the widespread protest, the Forest Department had issued orders to either drive away the elephant and its herd deep into the forest or to capture the wild tusker.

A special drive was organised using kumki elephants, brought in from Muthanga elephant camp, at Pooladikunnu, Ilambilery and Cholakunnu. Night patrolling was also carried out to either scare away the herd or to invite the attention of the animals.

According to South Wayanad DFO Ajith K Raman, there have been no signs of the herd and the killer tusker for the last few days. Raman told Onmanorama that the department is forced to wind up the operations as there were no signs of the herd since the mishap. "The mishap was a rare incident as the region was not a regular elephant roaming spot," he added.

The South Wayanad DFO said that they have informed the ward member and other representatives, and granted that there are no signs of the tusker on Friday, the search operation will be called off for the time being.

The Rapid Response Teams will spring into action the moment when the villagers alert that the herd is back, Forest officials added.

Farmers predicted that though the animal and its herd are missing, they will return when the jackfruits are ripe. They pointed out that during summer and early monsoon, elephants will pay recurring visits to human habitats and farm lands in search of jackfruit, one of their favourite fruits. Though many farmers had cut down jackfruit trees on the instruction of Forest officials, most of the farmers are reluctant to do it, they added.