CHENNAI: Anamalai Tiger Reserve (ATR) authorities in Coimbatore have decided to shift the 26 captive elephants to four different camps owing to shortage of water and natural fodder.
As the summer is beating down and the district is facing 89% deficit rainfall, the water source at Kozhikamuthi elephant camp, which is one of the oldest in India, in Topslip has depleted, becoming a major cause of concern. Besides, construction work was going on at Kozhikamuthi where the state government was building eco-friendly houses for the mahouts.
As a stop-gap arrangement, the elephants have been split into four batches and moved to temporary camps. Confirming the development with TNIE, Bhargava Teja, ATR deputy director (Pollachi) said, “A total of 10 elephants are at Varagaliyar, six at Chinnar, five at Manambolly and remaining five housed slightly away from the Kozhikamuthi camp.”
The official said water scarcity was one reason and another reason was the ongoing construction work, which would disturb the elephants. “Chinnar and Manambolly have good water sources and are a perfect habitat. So, temporary camps were set up here. The department also arranged food and accommodation for a few months. We hope the construction will be completed by July and expect to receive some rain to ease the water situation.”
There was a plan to open another temporary elephant camp at Navamalai, but the idea was later dropped. Theppakkadu camp in Mudumalai tiger reserve and Kozhikamuthi in ATR are some of the oldest elephant camps in India and have the best elephant caretakers.
There are 91 elephant caretakers working at these two elephant camps. Chief Minister MK Stalin had announced a grant of `1 lakh each to all 91 mahouts and cavadis from the Chief Minister’s Public Relief Fund after ‘The Elephant Whisperers’ documentary based on them won an Oscar award.
The chief minister had also announced financial assistance of `9.1 crore for construction of eco-friendly and culturally-compatible houses for all 91 elephant caretakers. Recently, Stalin had laid the foundation stone for improving Kozhikamuthi camp at a cost `5 crore, including construction of houses.