The wound in the right front leg of a wild tusker found limping inside the Dalma wildlife sanctuary last month has finally healed, bringing relief to foresters.

Village youths recruited as daily wage trackers spotted the 10-year-old elephant running in a jungle near Konkadasa village inside the sprawling 192 sq km sanctuary a few days ago.

The tusker, which was separated from a herd in May and was found limping near the Kashjobi watering hole, had since gone traceless and has possibly reunited with a herd that has left the sanctuary.

Dalma divisional forest officer CMP Sinha, who supervised the treatment of the jumbo, said the animal was not spotted in the sanctuary.

“I had given instructions to foresters to keep a watch on the elephant during the animal census held on June 10. However, the tusker could not be traced,” he added.

According to the district forest officer (DFO), the jumbo underwent treatment under the care of Bhagwan Birsa Munda Zoological Park vet Ajay Kumar and his Tata Steel Zoological Park counterpart Manik Palit for five days last month.

“We think the wound has healed and the tusker is no longer limping as it was seen running inside the jungle. We could not find the elephant, but it has apparently reunited with a herd and left the sanctuary. However, we are hopeful about its return,” Sinha said.

A forester, on condition of anonymity, said that elephants are moving animals and don’t stay at a particular place for long.

“The tusker had reunited with a herd last month and left the sanctuary. But it came back again and was found near Konkadasa. The state forest department was also keeping a watch on the health of the elephant,” he added.