KOZHIKODE: The Kerala forest department has confirmed that another elephant from Karnataka has strayed into Wayanad. The chief conservator of forests, north zone, K S Deepa, and the district forest officer, South Wayanad, Shajna, in a press conference held in Kalpetta on Wednesday, said the department is monitoring the elephant’s movements in the Pathiri forest area.
The tusker, Mozha, which has a radio collar fitted in it, was first sighted in Muthanga. “The department is continuing its efforts to track the jumbo,” said Deepa.
The officials also denied the allegations against the department in handling Mission Thanneer komban. The Kerala forest department came under severe criticism after the wild jumbo from Karnataka, Thanneerkomban, died after it was tranquillised at Mananthavady and released into the Bandipur forest in cooperation with the Karnataka forest department.
“The Karnataka forest department did not pass the information regarding Thanneer Komban on time. Its presence in Wayanad came as a surprise. We came to know about the situation on February 2, after the elephant strayed into Mananthavady town. Though we tried to drive the elephant back to the forest, the mission failed. We did not know how to deal with the tusker as its nature was alien to us. Hence, the only option was to drug the jumbo. So, we administered tranquilliser shots to the elephant and tried to get it back into the forest at night. However, Thanneer Komban died at half past one on February 3. The elephant was badly affected with infection,” said Deepa.
The department’s veterinary officer Dr Ajesh Mohandas termed the allegations that the jumbo died of drug overdose as baseless. “The tranquilliser was administered after completing all necessary procedures and with extreme precaution. The elephant had serious health issues. However, as there were no external injuries, the condition was not detected in the primary evaluation,” he said.
Meanwhile, the expert committee members, led by the chief conservator of forests, eastern circle, and custodian of vested forests, Palakkad, K Vijayananthan, who were assigned to investigate the death of Thanneer Komban reached Mananthavady on Wednesday and recorded the statements of the forest officials. The committee will also record the statements of the Karnataka forest officials on Thursday and submit the inquiry report within a month.