Rogue elephant Arikomban captured again, this time in Tamil Nadu

After Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin ordered forest officers and the district administration to prioritise the safety of the public, resources had been pooled from several wildlife reserves – including Kumki elephants Suyambu, Udhayan, and Muthu from the Cumbum forest office and a veterinary team – to tranquilise the elephant and load it into a specially designed forest department truck.

The capture, however, was conducted under a shroud of secrecy for several reasons, including concerns for the safety of both the animal and the locals, and the possibility of a threat from people if they came to know about the next location where the elephant is to be released.

It was after a Kerala High Court’s order on April 29 that Arikomban had been translocated to the Periyar Tiger Reserve (PTR). But the elephant made its way to Cumbum town a month later, causing a stir among the locals and even leading to the death of a security officer. Arikomban wreaked havoc in Cumbum town, injuring three individuals, damaging vehicles, and forcing district authorities to impose Section 144, restricting residents from going outdoors.

S Anand, deputy director of Srivilliputhur Megamalai Tiger Reserve, said the elephant was captured between 3 am and 4 am. A team of over 200 forest department personnel were deployed for the operation and the elephant’s movement was tracked via a radio collar. A special control room has been set up at the Cumbum forest range office, and satellite technology aided the authorities to make the tracking accurate in real-time between the control room and officers and forest watchers on the ground.

As the forest department discreetly planned to release the elephant near Kalakkad Mundanthurai tiger reserve, about 200 kms away from where it was captured, multiple petitions from animal lovers awaited slots for hearing before the Madurai bench of Madras high court.

Top forest officials in Tamil Nadu said the popularity of the elephant is making their job harder as there is an unprecedented public interest in its movement.

Arikomban, the rogue elephant, which has been terrorising mountainous areas of Kerala’s Idukki district. (Express photo by Jomon George)

The tusker was first captured and relocated to the Periyar Tiger Reserve on April 29. Arriving in Cumbum around 4 am on May 4, it had journeyed roughly 40 km in four days from the Chuliyur area, at the Meghamalai Wildlife Sanctuary’s foothills.

After wandering through Kerala and Tamil Nadu forest areas, Arikomban ventured into human settlements again, leading to a ban on tourist entry at Meghamalai. The issue of the elephant’s capture, and its fate, has been heard by the Kerala and Madras High Courts in multiple hearings on various petitions by individuals opposing and supporting the rogue tusker.