Expert Panel Suggests Translocating Tusker To Parambikulam Tiger Reserve

A Kerala high court-appointed expert committee tasked with deciding the fate of the rice-eating tusker ‘Arikkomban’ today suggested in the court that the elephant be translocated to the Parambikulam tiger reserve in the Palakkad district of the state.

The suggestion was made in a report filed in the court by the committee after it visited, on Monday where several areas of Idukki district have been affected by the activities of the tusker and heard grievances of locals.

Senior advocate Ramesh Babu (amicus curiae in the matter) and convener of the 5-member committee, stated that the court was of the view that the actual date and time of capture of the elephant be decided by veterinary doctors concerned as the tusker is in ‘Musth’.

During the hearing, the court stated that it would be constituting local-level task forces in all the affected grama panchayats bordering the famous hill station of Munnar in Idukki district so that such issues in future can be dealt quickly.

The court heard a PIL by two animal rights groups, People for Animals (PFA), Trivandum Chapter and the Walking Eye Foundation for the Animal Advocacy.

In their plea, filed through advocates Bhanu Thilak and Prasanth S R, the petitioners claimed order to tranquilise and capture the tusker was “illegal and unscientific”.
It was on their plea that the court on March 23 in a late night sitting stayed the government decision to capture the tusker.

On March 29, the court extended the stay till April 5 and constituted an expert committee to decide whether the elephant should be captured and kept in captivity to be trained as a kumki elephant or relocated to some other forest.

The amicus stated that the panel in its report favoured translocating of the tusker to Parambikulam tiger reserve in Palakkad and not its capture for being trained as a kumki elephant.

Kumki elephants are captive pachyderms trained for use in trapping and capturing wild elephants.

Therefore, the court said that it will pass orders after considering the suggestions in the report. Senior Advocate further said that the committee was also of the view that the anxieties and apprehensions of the locals are genuine.