COIMBATORE: Chinna Thambi, as soon as a infamous crop-raiding elephant within the Coimbatore area, is now a kumki who's on his first main project to ward off wild elephants from human habitats within the Kannivadi forest vary within the Dindigul forest division.
A Kasilingam, vary officer, Ulandy forest vary within the Anaimalai Tiger Reserve, mentioned, “Chinna Thambi turned a kumki after intensive coaching on the Varakaliyar elephant camp. In his new mission, 26-year-old tusker will assist 57-year-old kumki elephant, Kaleem, in chasing away wild elephants. Chinna Thambi left for Kannivadi from the Kozhikamuthi elephant camp within the ATR, together with mahouts Chelladurai and Kaliappan, on Saturday.”
The kumkis have been pressed into service as a herd of feminine elephants and a tusker entered villages alongside the Kannivadi forest vary a number of occasions final month. The wild elephants broken just a few homes, ate rice and rice flour and broken standing crops on farmlands. On April 13, an anti-poaching watcher was trampled to loss of life by a wild elephant.
Subsequently, officers from the Dindigul forest division requested ATR officers to ship two kumki elephants to forestall man-animal conflicts. “Primarily based on the request, Kaleem was despatched to Kannivadi on Friday night. In the meantime, Chinna Thambi underwent medical check-ups, and forest veterinary officer A Sukumar issued a health certificates for the tusker to journey to Kannivadi on Saturday, after which he left,” a forest officer mentioned.
Chinna Thambi, who ceaselessly raided crops, was captured by the forest division from Thadagam valley on January 25, 2019. He was fitted with a radio collar and let right into a forest close to Topslip. He roamed across the surrounding areas for 4 days and later entered the Pollachi forest vary. On January 31, he entered a coconut farm there and broken 4 coconut timber. He later entered a number of villages and he was lastly captured once more by the forest division at Sarkar Kannadipudur village close to Madathukulam in Tirupur district within the mid-February that 12 months. He was later translocated to the Varakaliyar elephant camp, the place he spent 132 days inside a kraal.
“Kaleem will retire in three years. After that Chinna Thambi will play an important function in stopping man-animal conflicts within the area,” mentioned M G Ganesan, deputy subject director of the ATR.