Coimbatore: Two kumki elephants, John and Cheran, will be brought to Chadivayal elephant camp in Coimbatore from Mudhumalai on March 29. Principal chief conservator of forest (PCCF) and chief wildlife warden TP Raghunath has given clearance for shifting the kumkis to Coimbatore to replace aged elephants Pari and Sujai.
In an order issued last week, Raghunath said the two kumki elephants, Sujai and Pari, are being maintained at the Chadivayal kumki elephant camp in Coimbatore forest division. While Sujai, 47, lost his tusk on January 17, 2017 in an attack by a wild elephant attack, Pari is being treated for a wound on its left hind leg at the camp in Coimbatore forest division.
Both elephants are incompatible and cannot be utilized in tandem during a rescue operation. It has been decided to send Sujai and Pari to their respective places of Mudhumalai Tiger Reserve (Mudhumalai elephant camp) and Anaimalai Tiger Reserve (Varakaliyar in Topslip). As a replacement, Johan and Cheran will be translocated to Chadivayal elephant camp to tackle human-animal conflict and wild elephants, Raghunath said.
District forest officer (Coimbatore division) N Satheesh told TOI: “A 48-day special camp is being conducted for kumki elephants at Mudumalai as per the state government’s order. The camp ends on March 28. John and Cheran will be brought to Chadivayal elephant camp a day after the special camp ends.”
Mudhumalai Tiger Reserve (MTR) field director Srinivas R Reddy has been asked to translocate the kumki elephants - Cheran, 31, and John, 26 - from MTR to Chadivayal elephant camp.
Tamil Nadu has two elephant camps at Mudhumalai and Topslip and one kumki elephant camp at Chadivayal. To prevent man-animal conflict in Coimbatore forest division, the forest department set up the camp at Chadivayal in 2012. Initially, two kumki elephants Najnan and Pari were brought to the camp from Topslip. They were used for joint kumki operations in the forest division. Meanwhile, Nanjan breathed his last at Nellithurai near Mettupalayam in 2014. The department brought another kumki Sujai from Theppakadu elephant camp in Mudhumalai in May 2015.
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