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Foresters end killer jumbo’s run after 10-hr battle
Coimbatore, one of the elephant-attack prone districts, on Friday witnessed another man versus beast battle for nearly 10 hours at the end of which a tusker that had killed four persons was successfully captured.
By
migrator
migrator
Chennai
The pachyderm that stepped out of the Madukkarai forest had advanced into residential areas within the city for over 12 km. The jumbo, which was reportedly in the early stages of ‘musth’, had on Thursday injured five personnel from police and forest departments.
During the wee hours of Friday, the monster had moved to Vellalapalayam in Vellalore near Podanur where it killed four persons. After goring the fourth victim, K. Palanisamy (73), to death, the jumbo was feeding on the fodder grass in his farmland. Panic-stricken residents immediately sent word to forest department and police. A 200-strong team of cops, led by Commissioner of Police A. Amalraj and two DCPs, reached the spot and cordoned off the area.
Meanwhile, around 9.30 am Collector T N Hariharan came to the ‘battle zone’ and reviewed the situation along with the DFO. Officials planned to bring in four Kumkis to capture the animal. But, only Kumki Paari (39) managed to reach the scene in time around 10.35 a.m. As they came to know that it might take five more hours for the three other kumkis to come to the spot, the operation was aborted. Thereafter, efforts to tranquilise the jumbo aged around 20 years commenced. By this time, the rogue tusker had taken enough rest and was back in action. However, two teams got ready for the big battle, tranquilising the animal, around 11.45 am. At 12.20 pm senior wildlife veterinarian N S Manoharan successfully darted the animal with 5 ml Xylazine.
“Surprisingly the animal did not run around. Instead, it charged at me as I shot it from a close range. But for the timely action by field staff, I may have become its fifth victim,” the veterinarian said. Then it reached a shallow place, where elephant trackers and mahouts managed to put a knot on its legs and around neck with ropes. At this juncture, earthmovers joined the operation and Paari, the lone kumki, was brought in to demonstrate its prowess. Even as the mission was on, the wild elephant in an unexpected turn gained consciousness when it was brought near the truck.
The uncontrollable jumbo loosened the rope around its neck and everyone started running from the spot. So, a second dose of Xylazine (2.5 ml) was injected into to the animal using a dart gun around 2.10 pm. After this, the jumbo, without any injury, was safely loaded onto the truck amidst cheers by the public around 2.50 pm. “It will be taken to the Varakaliyar elephant camp near Topslip and may be trained as a Kumki,” Conservator of Forests for Coimbatore Circle I. Anwardeen said.
Minister’s arrival delays shifting of tusker to camp
The wild elephant that went on a rampage in Coimbatore was captured and kept ready for the tedious 85-km journey from Vellalore to Varakaliyar around 3.30 pm. But the jumbo’s departure was delayed by more than an hour, as the tired forest department officials and staff were forced to wait for Forest Minister Dindigul C Srinivasan and Municipal Administration Minister S P Velumani to arrive at the venue.
The ministers were busy visiting the four victims, who suffered injuries in the elephant attack, undergoing treatment in different hospitals in the city. The ministers also consoled families of the four persons killed by the elephant. For the first time in the state, the entire compensation of Rs 4 lakh each sanctioned by the government were handed over to each family.
Usually Rs 50,000 used to be sanctioned on the same day to meet immediate expenses. But considering the gravity of the issue, the district administration expedited sanction of the entire compensation and gave it as cheque to the grieving families. They also gave a relief amount of Rs 59,100 each to the victims who were injured by the elephant.
While these timely acts were appreciated, wildlife activists criticised the delay in shifting the elephant from the place it was captured to the camp due to the delay in arrival of the ministers. The Forest Minister said the lone tusker strayed out of the forest in search of fodder and water as the impact of the drought was severe in its natural habitat. He also said that forest personnel will be engaged in intensive patrolling at night to check wild animals straying out of the forest. Velumani said that elephant proof trenches will be dug to prevent elephants entering the city.
Third pachyderm to be trapped
The lone tusker that was captured at Vellalore in the city on Friday was the third pachyderm that was tranquilized and relocated from the city in less than a year. It began with the capture of Madukkarai Maharaj at Madukkarai on June 19, 2016. On April 16, this year, a fouryear-old male calf elephant that frequently entered human habitations at Thadagam area was captured.
MADUKKARAI-VELLALORE WAR ZONE
- 2.00 am: Forest staff lose track of the animal at Madukkarai Market
- 3.30 am: Rogue jumbo kills Gayathri and injures her parents at Ganesapuram
- 5.30 am: Elephant kills two women Nagarathinam and Jothimani at Vellalore
- 5.50 am: Tusker kills Palanisamy less than 500 meters away
- 6.15 am: Forest and police teams reach Palanisamy’s land
- 9.30 am: Collector, police and forest officials review situation
- 10.30 am: Efforts begin to tranquilize the elephant
- 12.20 pm: First tranquilizer administered using a dart gun
- 2.10 pm: Jumbo shot with second tranquilizer
- 2.50 pm: Elephant pushed into a truck successfully
- 4.00 pm: Minister Velumani inspects the animal
- 4.30 pm: Truck with jumbo leaves for Varakaliyar
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