Tamil Nadu: Fans of friendly wild elephant protest state move to capture, train him

In Tamil Nadu’s Coimbatore region, which has witnessed several protests over the past decade against incidents of wild animals, including elephants, straying out of forests and attacking humans and properties, a latest decision of the state forest department has invited protests yet again. This time, however, the protest is against the capture of a wild elephant, Chinna Thambi, who the protesters say is a human-friendly elephant. They have also formed a fan club, Chinna Thambi Fans Association.

After efforts by the forest department to capture and release the elephant to deep forest area failed and the elephant returned, state Forest Minister Dindigul C Sreenivasan Saturday announced that Chinna Thambi will be captured and trained as a kumki — tamed elephants used to capture wild elephants and for wildlife safari.

While Srinivasan said his department is left with no option as the priority is to protect people and agricultural fields, 45-odd people staged a protest in Coimbatore against the move.

The decision to capture the elephant was taken after forest department’s attempt to send him away from Thadagam near Coimbatore to Varakaliyar near Topslip a week ago failed. He was spotted again Friday near a village in Pollachi, about 50 km from Coimbatore.

While the department fears a human-animal conflict, local residents don’t consider Chinna Thambi a menace. Besides forming the fan club, they have started using a hashtag, #SaveChinnaThambi, with music videos featuring him and posted selfies with Chinna Thambi in the background on the social media.

A senior forest official said Chinna Thambi, who is being tracked through a radio collar, has strayed into Udumalpet forest range and that his movement is being closely watched by anti-poaching teams. “We have relocated some people from Pollachi village and brought kumki Kaleem to the spot. After bringing one more kumki, Chinna Thambi is expected to be captured in a few days,” said a forest official.

While Chinna Thambi has raided crops and there have been instances of him damaging house windows and shop shutters for fruits and grains inside, his relatively non-violent nature has made him dear to people. But the forest official said his nature can change anytime and failed translocation efforts show Chinna Thambi is a “conflict animal”.

B Ramakrishnan, who co-authored Right of Passage, which traces elephants for a decade or more to see their behaviour and migratory paths, said Chinna Thambi cannot be let loose if it refuses to return to the forest. “Relocation or taming may be solutions. He is around 25 years old. We cannot predict for how long he would remain friendly,” said Ramakrishnan.

Another human-friendly wild elephant, Rivaldo, lives in the nearby Mudumalai Tiger Reserve. Rivaldo would often wait for people to feed him as he lost a part of his trunk in an accident. Ramakrishnan, however, said the cases of Chinna Thambi and Rivaldo are very different. “Rivaldo lives in a tiger reserve where the human livelihood is more accommodative. While tribals there co-exist with animals, eco-tourism industry too has a healthy way of dealing with wildlife. But Udumalpet forest range is more populated and urban. It has more agricultural land and chances of conflicts may be high,” Ramakrishnan said.

On the other hand, ‘Elephant’ Rajendran, a senior lawyer known for many PILs surrounding elephants and forests, said Chinna Thambi shouldn’t be captured as the idea of Kumki is against wildlife. Rajendran said he will be filing a writ petition in Madras High Court Monday against the government’s move.

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