A team of the Forest Department from Ulandi forest range of Anamalai Tiger Reserve is monitoring the wild elephant Chinnathambi after its relocation from Thadagam to Varagaliar forest near Top Slip. The elephant was released into the wild at 2.30 a.m. on Saturday.
As per reports from the Forest Department, the tusker, aged 25, was roaming in the forest close to the location where it was released. “The elephant is in good condition after the release. A team of the Forest Department will monitor it for a few days,” said N. Naveen Kumar, Forest Range Officer of Ulandi range.
Chinnathambi was released after being given medication for the injuries it had sustained while being pushed onto the truck by a kumki with sharp tusks. The wild elephant's tusks got chipped during the capture.
According to an official who was part of the operation to relocate Chinnathambi, the radio collar attached to the elephant will be activated at the earliest. As of now, the radio collar is configured to send its location once a day for less consumption of the battery. The relaying of location could be increased to more than once a day if required.
Negative conditioning
Although the Forest Department is relieved after relocating two frequent crop raiders namely Chinnathambi and Vinayagan, 20-odd wild elephants are still left in the forests of Thadagam valley.
Among them, a female elephant, which roams with its calf, attacked several humans and caused damage to houses while raiding food, grains, salt and fruits.
The mother-calf duo was close to the location from where Chinnathambi was captured on Friday.
A senior official from the Forest Department in Coimbatore said that negative conditioning methods will be continued to prevent the entry of the remaining elephants into human habitations and agricultural fields in the valley.
This includes continuing to deploy two kumkis in the affected areas in the valley, he said.
