Female elephant to be sent back to Assam from Tamil Nadu

For the first time, Tamil Nadu will send back an elephant that was illegally held captive in the state even after expiry of the lease period to its native state.

Deivanai, a female elephant known for attacking its caretakers, will be transported back to Assam, the Tamil Nadu Forest Department has said in an RTI reply. The elephant had a long history of attacking its caretakers – one mahout died in May this year, while two others sustained injuries.

The female elephant was shifted from the Subramaniya Swamy Temple in Tiruparankundram in Madurai in May this year to the Elephant Rescue and Rehabilitation Centre at M.R. Palayam in Tiruchirapalli after it killed its mahout.

The elephant had also attacked its caregiver at the rehabilitation centre last week.

An RTI reply received by animal rights activist Antony Clement Rubin from the Madurai District Forest Department said the elephant is planned to be sent to Assam, its home state. Sources said the elephant was illegally held here even after the expiry of the lease period in 2017.

A forest department official said the process of sending back the elephant was on. “I can’t say anything now. The process is on and the elephant is in a condition to travel,” the official told DH.

Rubin told DH that seven other elephants from Assam are illegally held in Tamil Nadu and demanded that the government should send back all of them to their native state. He also wanted to know why the committee that has been set up to monitor captive elephants was not doing its job.

“Sending back Deivanai to her home state of Assam is a welcome decision. The question is why only Deivanai and not others who are held captive illegally? Is Deivanai being sent back only because people here are not able to attend to her? Everyone knows she has temperament issues and is that why she is being sent back?” he asked.

Rubin said the state government should send back all elephants held captive illegally in Tamil Nadu.