Wild tusker Arikomban tranquilised, to be translocated

Officials said that the elephant is being translocated to a 'suitable habitat' where the Tamil Nadu forest department will continue to monitor him

After being evasive for nine days, Arikomban, a 35-year-old elephant which strayed into human habitat after translocation from Kerala, was captured in the wee hours of Monday after Forest Department officials fired two tranquiliser shots at the jumbo, bringing respite to people of Cumbum in Tamil Nadu’s Theni district.

People of Cumbum, a picturesque town in the Western Ghats, were on tenterhooks after Arikomban, known for its ferocious nature and love for food, since May 27, the day the elephants were found in the town. Since then, they have been living in fear and the government too imposed Section 144 in the town – it was lifted only after the jumbo was captured safely.

Also Read: Arikomban scares people in Tamil Nadu's Theni; massive hunt on to capture the jumbo

“Arikomban, the wild tusker, was safely tranquilized in early hours today in Cumbum east range by a team of forest veterinary surgeons and forest department officials,” Supriya Sahu, Additional Chief Secretary (Environment and Forests), said.

She added that the elephant is being translocated to a “suitable habitat” where the Tamil Nadu forest department will continue to monitor him.

Officials said they fired two shots of tranquiliser and the elephant was caught between 3 am and 4 am on Monday.

“We did our best not to tranquilise the elephant and capture it. Since it was evading and changing its location very frequently, we had to tranquilise and capture the jumbo. We will translocate the jumbo by following the due process,” a senior government official told DH.

He said the four-member team patiently waited for the elephant to emerge from the hilly forest region to a plane area to begin their operation.

The official added that three kumki elephants – Suyambu, Muthu, and Udhayan trained to capture and tame wild tuskers -- brought from elephant camps in Topslip and Mudumalai helped Arikomban board the truck owned by the Forest Department after it was sedated and subsequently captured.

A few hours later, Theni district administration lifted Section 144 imposed in Cumbum town and allowed resumption of agricultural activity, which was suspended due to threat from the elephant.

The state forest department mounted massive efforts to capture the elephant, whose movement was monitored through signals emitted from the radio collar fitted on it, by deploying 190 forest personnel, setting up a central control room at Cumbum to ensure overall coordination, and setting up a team of veterinarians supported by 16 elephant trackers from other tiger reserves in the state.

Arikomban -- Ari (rice) and komban (elephant) in Malayalam – was in April translocated 100 km to Periyar Tiger Reserve after protests from locals in Chinnakanal in Idukki district where it has so far killed 11 persons and damaged 300 houses, but the elephant strayed from the area and entered human habitat in neighbouring Tamil Nadu.