After being trained for eight months, the wild male elephant known by its popular nickname ‘Arisi Raja’ was released from the kraal (wooden enclosure) by the Forest Department recently at Varagaliar, near Topslip.
Forest officials from Anamalai Tiger Reserve (ATR) said on Friday that the tusker was out of the kraal on July 21 and was under observation for 10 days to check whether it displayed any aggression. The 19-year-old elephant, officially christened as ‘Muthu’ by the Forest Department, was observed to be under control and has been obeying the commands of the mahout and kavadi (mahout’s assistant), officials said.
In 2019, this wild elephant killed three persons and caused damage to farms and houses in places near Aliyar. Forest officials tranquilised and captured it in Arthanaripalayam near Pollachi on November 14, 2019, following which they brought it to the kraal at Varagaliar.
“In the past 10 days, we checked whether it obeyed all the commands, accepts the food provided and gets irritated in the presence of other elephants or humans at the camp,” an ATR official told The Hindu . Having passed this initial step, Muthu will continue to be observed by the mahout and officials at Varagaliar and will shift it to the Kozhikamuthi elephant camp of ATR based on its behaviour during this observation period.
