Wild elephant Arikompan is blindfolded earlier than being loaded right into a truck at Chinnakkanal in Idukki on April 29, 2023..
| Photo Credit: Jomon Pampavalley
A day after they set out to seize and translocate wild tusker Arikompan, the members of the particular process drive of the Forest division succeeded in the mission after a gruelling day-and-night operation on Saturday. Tranquilised and hemmed in by 4 kumki elephants, the tusker put up stiff resistance however lastly allowed itself to be pushed into the loading bay of a specifically geared up truck which left Chinnakkanal late night.
Driving rain and thick fog threatened to hamper the operation however lastly, the animal was radio-collared and loaded on to the truck, to be transported about 100 km away. It will be released into the Periyar wildlife sanctuary by evening.
After hours of intense search contained in the deep forests, the tusker got here below the crew’s surveillance round 9 a.m. on Saturday close to the Suryanelli hills at Chinnakkanal, Idukki. Firecrackers have been burst to drive the elephant to come down to Vilakk, close to Cement Palam, round 11 a.m. Chief Forest Veterinary Surgeon Arun Zacharia fired the primary tranquilizer shot round 11.35 a.m., which was adopted by 4 booster doses. Four kumki elephants then managed to information the tusker to a location shut to the highway after about two hours.
Soon, a brand new path was hewed close by utilizing an earth mover and a truck was introduced in. After a chronic effort in heavy rain, the duty drive lastly made the tusker enter the automobile, which then left for Thekkady round 6 p.m. Hundreds of individuals have been ready on the roadside to catch a glimpse of the tusker. A she- elephant and a calf have been seen roaming close to truck, simply earlier than it left the spot.
Mr. Zacharia; High Range Circle Chief Conservator of Forests (CCF) Arun R.S.; Munnar Divisional Forest Officer Ramesh Bishnoi; Kottayam DFO N. Rajesh; Munnar Assistant Conservator of Forests (ACF) Shantri Tom; and Devikulam vary officer P.V. Vegi have been a part of the mission.
The tribal folks of Chinnakkanal, nonetheless, didn’t seem so elated by the operation. “Capturing the tusker is not a practical way to address the human-elephant conflict in Chinnakkanal. The Forest department should focus on ensuring proper food for the wild elephants to prevent the menace,” stated Manikandan, a neighborhood resident.
