CHENNAI: The Mudumalai Tiger Reserve (MTR) has decided to shift most of its camp elephants from the Theppakadu camp to various forest ranges within the Nilgiris district, a move aimed at improving animal welfare, reducing disease risks, and strengthening anti-poaching and conflict mitigation operations.
Chief Wildlife Warden Rakesh Kumar Dogra said the forest department did not want camp elephants to remain confined to a single location. “Their role should not be reduced to that of display animals. They have to move within forests and remain operational,” he said.
MTR Deputy Director M G Ganesan said Theppakadu earlier housed 29 camp elephants. Two elephants were recently shifted to Sadivayal, leaving 27 pachyderms in the camp, one of which later died. Eventually, only four elephants will remain at Theppakadu for tourist viewing once the redistribution plan commences.
The plan will also see all nine elephants at the Abhayaranyam camp, located near Theppakadu, shifted to the Bombax camp, while three more pachyderms will be moved to the Ombetta and Game Hut camps.
Dogra said the camp elephants and their mahouts would increasingly be deployed for anti-poaching patrols, boundary monitoring and human-elephant conflict management. He also noted that concentrating a large number of elephants in one location could increase health risks, particularly during the season when water quality deteriorates. The move will also allow degraded areas to regenerate, he said.