Three kumkis shifted to Periyathadagam

Surveillance stepped up to monitor wild elephants
The Forest Department on Tuesday shifted the three kumkis from Varapalayam area to Periyathadagam to step up surveillance and monitor wild elephants.

The kumkis - Cheran, Vijay and Bomman - were taken to Periyathadagam on Tuesday afternoon to prevent the wild elephants from straying out of forest.

Sources in Varapalayam said that the Forest Department shifted the kumkis to Periyathadagam after Chinna Thambi, one of the elephants which the department has plans to capture and translocate from Thadagam valley, moved to the area with a herd on Tuesday.

A female elephant with its calf, which had attacked people on several occasions, also moved to Periyathadagam, added sources.

An official from the Forest Department said that Ajay Desai, a consultant for the World Wildlife Fund and member of Asian elephants specialist group of International Union for Conservation of Nature, visited the human-elephant conflict areas on Tuesday.

The department had sought expert opinion from Mr. Desai to mitigate the conflict situation.

Meanwhile, Vinayagan, another wild elephant likely to be captured and translocated from Thadagam, moved to Mel Maruthungarai and Keel Maruthungarai area. The giant tusker is said to be in musth.

Assistant Principal Chief Conservator of Forests Deepak Srivastava on Sunday had assured farmers that one of the wild elephants that was entering human habitations would be captured within a week.

The Forest Department has plans to bring one or two kumkis from Mudumalai Tiger Reserve to Thadagam for the capture and translocation of wild elephants.

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