Over dozen police vehicles, one lorry, 122-km trip - how India's Kerala moved tranquilised tusker 'Arikomban'

Indian elephant infamous for raiding rice shops and killing locals in the southern state of Kerala has been finally relocated to a tiger reserve 80 km away. The elephant Arikomban, which means ‘rice tusker’ in Malayalam, was tranquillised Saturday and shifted to the Periyar Tiger Reserve.

Government calls the mission a success

The Kerala government has called this mission a success, and it is monitoring the 30-year-old elephant’s movements through a radio collar attached to it. It lived near the Devikulam forest range in the Idukki district for decades. However, locals in the area were demanding Arikomban’s removal from the site for months now. According to the government, Arikomban has killed seven people so far, apart from sporadicallyraiding local rice shops and causing a menace to the shopkeepers.

Move met by resentment from animal welfare associations

According to animal welfare activists, the issue is related to the wider debate around human-wildlife conflict, which can’t be taken care of by simply getting rid of the animals. Indian Express also quoted local sources to claim that the elephant became hostile only after human population in the area grew massively.

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The elephant began damaging buildings and concrete houses to forage for rice, and that’s how the years-old conflict between Arikomban and tribals started. To solve the issue, the Kerala Forest Department initially wanted to capture Arikomban and make him a permanent captive. However, the animal welfare organisations vehemently opposed the suggestion and moved to Kerala High Court.

The high court then formed a five-member committee to resolve the issue, which recommended the elephant be moved to another location where such human-wildlife conflict can be avoided. The committee suggested the authorities shift the elephant to the Parambikulam Tiger Reserve in the Palakkad district. However, this sparked a protest by locals in the area.

Later, it was decided that Arikomban will be shifted to Periyar Tiger Reserve.

The government had formed a task force of 150 officials to capture and track Arikomban. It was tranquillised and then transported to the tiger reserve in a truck. The authorities had imposed a curfew in the area to stymie protests by locals. However, as per a report by BBC, the arrival of the elephant was met with cheers.

Animal welfare activists wanted to keep the elephant in its original habitat. However, later they realised the people in the area had become hostile, and the problem could only be solved if the elephant is permanently relocated.

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