The rogue tusker Arikomban who was translocated from Idukki to Periyar Tiger Reserve (PTR), was spotted in human settlements of Tamil Nadu’s Theni district. According to reports, he had entered human settlements in Theni’s Cumbum. Visuals of the elephant walking across the town has been doing the rounds on social media. Onmanorama reported that three people were injured while trying to flee from the elephant and one of them is in a critical condition. The elephant also damaged several autos and vehicles during his rampage. Forest officials have asked residents to be safe and are tracking the elephant.
On May 4, Arikomban was spotted in Theni’s Meghamalai and had reportedly entered that area on three separate occasions. Arikomban had travelled 40 km in a span of four days and was spotted in Chuliyur area at the foothills of Megamalai Wildlife Sanctuary.
On April 29, the rogue elephant was translocated with the help of 150 officials and four kumki elephants. On the day he was being translocated, a curfew was imposed in Kumily. The operation to capture Arikomban began one day before on April 28 but was not successful. The officials then began their work again in the early morning hours of the next day. By 5 pm on April 29, officials had managed to capture Arikomban and get him into an ‘elephant ambulance’, a lorry with two wooden poles on the side. After that, two officials placed a radio collar to track the movements of the elephant.
Wild tusker Arikomban enters Theni, injures three people and damages vehicles. He was spotted in Theni's Meghamalai on May 4 after being translocated from Idukki. pic.twitter.com/MPvRNTDqey
— Akchayaa Rajkumar (@akchayaa_r) May 27, 2023