COIMBATORE: The role played by kumki elephants Udayan and Srinivasan in assisting forest department capture the Masinagudi tiger MDT-23 was immense but went unnoticed. But for them, it would have been impossible for the team to capture the tiger.
Udhayan, a makna born in the camp 23 years ago, was part of MDT-23 operation for the full 22 days. Both the elephants were assessed by Theppkkadu assistant veterinary surgeon K Rajesh Kumar before being deployed.
Srinivasan is a 19-year-old tusker who was captured in Gudalur in 2016 and trained to be a kumki. The two animals are maintained at the camp in Theppakkadu and would be engaged to capture or chase away wild elephants.
Sources said Udayan and Srinivasan were used as other experienced kumkis had been stationed in Gudalur forest range for over a month to drive away wild elephants. Narrating the final sequence of the operation, sources said Udhayan was deployed along with mahout Suresh soon after MDT-23 was spotted on Masinagudi road on the morning of October 15.
A veterinarian and frontline staff rode on Udayan and waited for over three hours as MDT-23 went into the bushes. Finally, Udayan was instructed to approach the tiger. As it inched closer, the tiger roared and tried to pounce at the team. However, Udayan remained calm which helped a veterinarian shoot the tranquiliser dart at the animal from a distance of 20 meters, sources added. Later, Srinivasan took frontline staff close to the tiger so that they could drape a cloth tight around his mouth.
“This was a major operation for both Udayan and Srinivasan. Udayan managed leopards and wild elephants in Masinagudi and helped the team to capture MDT-23. Usually, kumki elephants are taken inside the forest only when tiger trackers confirm presence of big cats,” said Rajesh Kumar. The duo has returned to the camp.
Environment secretary Supriya Sahu posted pictures of Udayan and Srinivasan on her twitter handle and credited them for the successful operation. She also appreciated the role played by the Anti Poaching Watchers (APW) Meen Kaalan, Bomman and Maadhan and tribals in tracking the tiger using his scat and pug marks.