CME3, a tusker that crossed over from Chhattisgarh into the Gadchiroli district of Maharashtra earlier this month with another elephant, was sighted near a village close to Saoli Range in Chandrapur district on Thursday, a source from the Maharashtra forest department told mid-day.com.

On Friday, both the elephants entered the Tadoba Andhari Tiger Reserve (TATR), making it the first wild elephant sighting there after more than 50 years.

Wildlife Conservationist Sagnik Sengupta, who is also the co-founder of NGO Stripes and Green Earth (SAGE) Foundation, told mid-day.com that on Friday, ME3 was sighted in the Kolsa Range of TATR, close to Pangadi Gate. Sengupta also pointed out that for the past one year, CME3 has been covering new territories, which neither he nor any other elephants did. Last year, the tusker had reached up to Kagaznagar in Telangana.