Rogue tusker Arikomban on the rampage again, this time in TN town on Kerala border

Arikomban has been making headlines over the past several months, spreading fear in parts of Idukki district in neighbouring Kerala. The elephant is specifically known for its fondness for rice – the name Arikomban literally translates to ‘rice tusker’ – and repeated raids on ration shops. It also has a history of trampling 10 people to death and destroying around 60 houses and shops.

The elephant’s presence in Cumbum on Saturday initially incited panic among residents, and many attempted to capture its movements on their smartphones. The situation worsened when Arikomban injured three people and damaged a few vehicles. A man named Paulraj was reportedly attacked by the rogue elephant and is currently receiving treatment at a government hospital.

According to local officials, Arikomban arrived in Cumbum at around 4 am on May 4, having travelled approximately 40 km in four days. He was last seen in the Chuliyur area, on the foothills of the Megamalai Wildlife Sanctuary.

The most recent attempt to translocate Arikomban started on April 28, involving over 150 officials and four kumki elephants (captive tuskers used for operations against rogue elephants). By the evening of April 29, Arikomban had been captured and transferred to an ‘elephant ambulance’ – a lorry equipped with two wooden poles on the side that enabled officials to collar the elephant for tracking purposes. The tusker was tranquilised and released into Mullaikodi RF in the Periyar Tiger Reserve Project on April 29.

Since then, the elephant has been constantly moving through the forest areas of Kerala and Tamil Nadu. A few weeks ago, the tusker entered human settlements in Tamil Nadu, including the popular tourist spot Meghamalai, forcing Tamil Nadu to ban tourist entry there. A senior forest official from Theni suggested that the movement of the tusker could be towards Chinnakanal in Kerala, near Munnar, which is its original habitat.

On Saturday, kumki elephants were deployed from Topslip in Pollachi, and veterinary doctors from Madurai and Hosur were sourced to assist in tranquilising Arikomban. As the elephant is radio-collared, multiple forest teams are able to closely monitor its movements.

In the morning, officials at the state electricity board suspended power supply to the Cumbum town area where the tusker was spotted. Public transport was also put on hold, leaving the streets eerily quiet.

Amid a high alert issued by the state forest department and various precautions taken by the district administration, Chief Minister M K Stalin instructed officials to take immediate measures to tranquillise the tusker and shift it to the forest area with the help of kumki elephants. Stalin asked the district administration and forest officials to prioritise the people’s safety.

Last March, during the peak of demonstrations by people in the high ranges of Idukki calling for the Kerala government to take action against recurring elephant attacks that were threatening lives and livelihoods, the case of Arikomban was brought to the Kerala High Court. In the final week of the month, the court warned of severe repercussions against the state after learning that the area subjected to the rogue elephant’s disruptive behaviour had originally been an elephant habitat and that it was the state’s actions that had resulted in human settlements there.

Justices A K Jayasankaran Nambiar and Gopinath P demanded documentation and reports regarding the resettlement of tribal communities in the area in 2000. The court stated that the relocation of people into an elephant habitat was at the heart of the issue.