Rogue elephant Arikomban captured by TN forest dept. after being tranquilised
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Chennai: The Tamil Nadu Forest Department captured the 35-year-old wild tusker Arikomban in Chinnaobulapuram village near Cumbum of Theni district early on Monday morning.
The elephant entered Tamil Nadu from the forests of Kerala more than a month ago.
'Arikomban' was tranquilised by a team of Forest Veterinary Surgeons and Forest Department officials by injecting two doses of tranquiliser.
The captured Arikomban was then made to board a forest department truck specially designed to transport elephants using the help of three 'Kumki' elephants, which came from the Aanamalai tiger reserve and Mudumalai tiger reserve.
On April 29, the rogue elephant was captured by the Kerala Forest Department from Chinnakanal in Idukki district and relocated to Periyar Tiger Reserve (PTR) located in the Kerala-Tamil Nadu border after the Kerala High Court ordered the capture and relocation of the elephant.
On the 27th of May morning, it entered Cumbum town and roamed the streets. A security officer, died after the elephant hit the scooter he was riding.
The elephant was captured early Monday morning after it reached a banana farm near Usilampatti.
A 75-member forest team was on vigil for the past few days and three 'Kumki' elephants and veterinarians were in the team of forest officials. A five-member tribal group, who are experts in tracking elephants, were also deployed by the forest department in the past week.
A special control room had been set up at the Cumbum forest range office for monitoring the tusker’s movement through GPS.
The translocation of the elephant is being secretly maintained by the forest department due to its popularity. Arikomban is being tracked with the help of a radio collar and will be translocated to a suitable habitat.
