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India: Court orders capture, radio-collaring, translocation of rogue elephant Arikomban

India: Court orders capture, radio-collaring, translocation of rogue elephant Arikomban

Arikomban, the rogue wild elephant

The Kerala High Court on Thursday ordered the capture, radio-collaring, and translocation of Arikomban, a rogue wild elephant wreaking havoc in the Chinnakanal and Shanthanpara regions of Idukki district.

The court has also instructed the district collector of Idukki to personally oversee the tusker's transfer to the Parambikulam Tiger Reserve.

An expert committee appointed by the High Court to recommend steps to keep Arikomban from roaming among human settlements released a report advocating the animal's capture and translocation.

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The HC said, “No celebrations or beating of drums or bursting of crackers shall be allowed anywhere near the animal after its capture or during its transport.”

The Kerala High Court had rejected the plea of the forest department to tranquilise and capture the wild elephant on March 29.

Earlier, the Kerala High Court scheduled a special night session for the first time to hear petitions from campaigners to preserve the rights of wild animals and to halt an operation to capture Arikomban, a wild elephant, till March 29.

Kerala's forest department had planned to employ four Kumki elephants, Kunju, Konni Surendran, Suryan, and Vikram, to catch 'Arikomban,' the roguewild elephant causing havoc in the Chinnakanal and Shanthanpara region, a hilly section of Kerala's Idukki district. Arikomban was given the name of a wild tusker. (Ari: rice, Kombam: tusker).

The decision was reached by a division bench comprised of Justices AK Jayasankaran Nambiar and P Gopinath.

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