COIMBATORE: After 132 gruelling days in the kraal (wooden enclosure) at Varagaliyar in the Anamalai Tiger Reserve (ATR), Friday morning saw Chinna Thambi getting unchained after his tribal trainers gave the green signal to the officials. The tribals conducted a pooja before releasing him.
Deputy Director of ATR A S Marimuthu said that Chinna Thambi learnt to obey most of the 42 commands developed using Urdu and Malayalam.
The response from the jumbo was positive; the mahouts too were happy with his behaviour, leading to his release. “Unlike other wild elephants, Chinna Thambi was not aggressive, hence it was easy to train him,” the official added.
While there is no one-size-fits-all training module, Chinna Thambi took four-and-a-half months to get trained.