COIMBATORE: Vinayaga -- the wild jumbo that had been straying into Chinna Thadagam for nearly six months -- was finally tranquilised and captured by the Forest department staff on Tuesday morning. While the animal did not go down easy, two kumkis and several hours of struggle later, he was successfully secured in the department vehicle for transportation to Mudumalai Tiger Reserve.
Members of the Rapid Response Team and a few veterinarians had been monitoring the tusker's movements since Monday even as the demand to relocate him grew louder, given the damage he was causing to crops and properties in the surroundings of Chinna Thadagam. On Tuesday morning, the staff decided to implement the move after tranquilising him. The team of veterinarians, led by Animal Husbandry joint director N S Manokaran, used darts loaded with Xylazine and Ketamine (5 ml) to drug him. This was done in the flat terrain of Periyathadagam forest at 6 am to help facilitate easy transport.
Soon after the drugs started taking, Forest staff tied ropes around his legs to be able to better control his movements. However, despite being slowed down by the drugs, Vinayaga refused to get into the department vehicle. When kumkis Vijay and Wasim could not get him in by pushing him from behind, the staff tried pulling Vinayaga forward with a rope attached to an earthmover. The two other kumkis on the scene -- Cheran and Bomman -- remained clear of the huge jumbo. It was after five hours of struggle that they managed to get Vinayaga on board.
There were some tense moments when Vinayaga strained against the ropes and restraints and tried to move backwards, causing panic among the scores of onlookers who had gathered to watch the spectacle. By the end of the operation, Vijay and Wasim were completely worn out. Sources said that the two kumkis had not had any food or water for the past five hours, adding to the strain.
According to principal chief conservator of forest Deepak Srivastava, "We have decided to release Vinayaga into Mudumalai Tiger Reserve, far from human habitation and where there is abundant grass and water. The place is a tri-junction of Bandhipur, Kerala forest and MTR and he will be able to move freely. We will monitor him using a radio collar to make sure he does not raid crops in agricultural fields or damage property."
He said that the plan was to keep Vinayaga in a semi-conscious state till he was released into the forest. "An elephant can be given up to 30 ml of sedatives. Till 3 pm on Tuesday when he was loaded into the vehicle, we have given him 15 ml. He is expected to be released in the MTR by 1 am on Wednesday," he explained, adding that they would have to travel over 120 km to make the drop.
Staying wild for posterity
By leaving him in the wild, the department was hoping he would mate and pass on his strong genetic features. Vinayaga was suspected to weight between 4.5 and 5 tonne, Deepak pointed out. Vinayaga had also expressed a dominating personality with considerable influence on other wild elephants it encountered. Other jumbos took to raiding fields and residential areas by emulating him. This made it all the more vital to relocate Vinayaga and not convert him into a kumki. Besides, he had also been the cause for a few deaths during earlier attempts to drive him away into the forest.
After the beloved Maharaja
This was the second time in three years that a wild elephant was being relocated from the Coimbatore Forest Division. It was on June 23, 2016 that Madukkarai Maharaja was tranquilised and moved to Kozhikamuthi camp near Topslip in Ulanthy Forest Division. However, he did not take well to captivity and died after repeatedly hitting against the walls of his wooden enclosure (kraal).
Many a vet involved
Besides N S Manokaran, Sathymangalam Tiger Reserve (STR) veterinarian K Asokan, Animals Husbandry department's assistant veterinary surgeons Kalaivanan (Theni district), and Vijayaragavan (Tirupur), and Anamalai Tiger Reserve's retired forest range officer S Thangaraj Pannerselvam participated in the operation. Representatives of NGOs WWF and Wildlife Nature Conservation Trust also assisted the officials.