Chennai: Despite protests from locals, the Tamil Nadu forest department released the rogue elephant 'Arikomban', after its capture and transportation from Theni district on Monday. The pachyderm was released in the Kalakkadu-Mundanthurai Tiger Reserve (KMTR) in the southern Tirunelveli district late in the evening, putting an end to its rendezvous with civilian areas.
'Arikomban' which entered the town of Cumbam a week ago, came to a banana farm near Chinnamanur Monday morning when it was caught. For the past few days, a 75-member forest team, including three 'Kumki' elephants and veterinarians, was on standby. Additionally, a five-member tribal team specializing in elephant tracking had been monitoring the elephant for the past week.
According to forest department sources, 'Arikkompan' was tranquilized twice during the search operation with the help of three 'Kumki' elephants. It has been reported that the captured elephant was left in the thick forest in Tirunelveli District Kalakadu-Mundanturai Tiger Reserve.
Locals in Manjolai protested against the release of Arikomban in the Kalakadu-Mundanthurai area. They were of the opinion that bringing the rogue elephant to the area will create havoc as around 300 families are staying near the Manchola tea estate in the area.
Ramakrishnan, a professor and forest researcher at Ooty Government College of Arts, told ETV Bharat, "The captured Arikomban elephant should be released into the dense forest. Only then will this elephant live in the forest with other elephants. Because it is difficult to predict where elephants will go. There are many examples of this. A few years ago from Hunsur in Karnataka, five elephants were released in the forests of Bandipur, 200 km away. However, the elephants could not bear it and returned to Hunsur."
Representative of the Animal Welfare Board of India, P. Paulraj said, "When capturing such animals, it should be done in the presence of Non-Governmental Organizations approved by the Animal Welfare Board of India. And in this case, it is not allowed to capture the animals at night, especially by tranquilizing."
Further, animals with injuries should not be translocated and doing so is punishable under the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act. Former Additional Director and Wildlife Doctor (Retired) Manokaran said, "Any animal should not be relocated only if it has major injuries. Some injuries occur naturally while roaming in search of food. Wildlife doctors will handle them." "If there is a minor injury, it can be moved to another place," he said, adding that the doctors should do a physical examination before transportation.
While talking about this at Vandalur Arian Anna Zoo in Chennai, Forest Minister Mathiventhan said, "Arikomban elephant has been released into the dense forest after treatment so that people will not be afraid. The forest department, police department and revenue department have now jointly caught the Arikomban elephant that terrorized people in Theni district."
Earlier, Madras High Court ordered the Tamil Nadu forest department to halt the translocation of wild tusker Arikomban for a day. According to sources, the Madurai bench of the Madras HC had stayed the translocation of the elephant till Tuesday. The bench stayed the mission while considering a petition filed by Ernakulam native Rebecca Joseph.
Joseph, an animal rights activist based out of Kochi in Kerala, in her appeal before the Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court, said that the animal was ill and had a deep wound in its trunk, hence, releasing it in deep forests was not a good solution. The animal rights activist wanted the Madras High Court to order bringing the elephant back to Kerala and provide treatment. Meanwhile, the Forest Department denied reports that the court had released a stay order preventing the translocation of the tusker.
Also read: Captured! Tamil Nadu to rehabilitate wild tusker 'Arikomban' from Kerala
