COIMBATORE: Seven months since the people of Navamalai demanded the capture of a wild elephant, the Anamalai Tiger Reserve (ATR) has decided to do just that. They are awaiting approval from the government to capture the tusker who is now in the surroundings of Arthanaripalayam -- 10 km from the eastern side of Navamalai -- in the Pollachi forest range.
Over the past several months, the elephant has been accused of raiding crops and 'charging' at humans in Arthanaripalayam, Reddiyarur, Paruthiyur and Aandiyur. He was also the cause of death of two tribals of Navamalai in May. However, ATR Deputy Director A S Marimuthu comes to the defence of the wild jumbo, claiming that the latter does not intentionally charge at humans. "The tusker has taken to eating rice and that is why he is frequently entering residential areas. The man-animal conflict escalates when farmers and the public try to chase him themselves," he explained.
The two deaths reported in May were also believed to be unintentional. In the first case, a seven-year-old girl walked in on the elephant eating rice in her house. The jumbo, startled by the torchlight she was carrying, made a run for it and seems to have trampled her in the process. The second death was that of a 55-year-old man who refused to get into his house when Forest officials were trying to chase the jumbo into the forest. However, the villagers had their version of the events -- they claimed that the girl was killed on the way to the house from the bus stop in the night and the man was attacked when he was sleeping outside his house.
Marimuthu said that he will be captured if the chief wildlife warden approves their request. If such an operation is undertaken, this would be the second such mission after Chinnathambi's extradition this year. Chinnathambi was captured again from Kannadipudur in Tirupur on February 16 and is now residing with kumki elephants.
Calf in trouble
Work at Nallamudi tea estate in Valparai came to a standstill after a calf elephant and its mother took refuge in the fields. The calf seems to be unable to move because of a birth defect in its rear legs. Hence, the mother has been standing guard over it. Forest officials have been providing jackfruit laced with mineral mixtures for the one-and-a-half-year-old calf.