Elephant Rivaldo: Lessons on conservation for TN Forest Department

Rivaldo – a friendly, adventurous and well-behaved tusker of Mudumalai Tiger Reserve (MTR) –  who caught the attention of people near and far, has been yomping in the forest after he was finally freed on August 3 following life as a captive elephant for 85 days.

Though the elephant peacefully cohabited with the villagers and reportedly caused no material or human damage, he was captured by the officials to avoid possible conflict with humans and to treat ‘injuries’. Around 10 days ago, Rivaldo was released into the forest by the Tamil Nadu Forest department and this has divided opinion. While the government and a section of activists say that a chance in the wild is important for the elephant, several other activists and conservationists allege that capturing Rivaldo was unwarranted and futile, thus adding physical and mental trauma to the wild tusker and misspending huge amounts of funds on the project.

TNM details the timeline of incidents from what led to the capture of Rivaldo, his release after more than three months and the elephant's return to his habituated region – Masinagudi.

Rivaldo, a 35-year-old tusker, had been living in Vazhaithottam, his home range and surrounding regions of the MTR buffer zone, for the past several years. Over a period of 12 years, Rivaldo became accustomed to Masinagudi and the villagers in the area. Though no harm to other animals and humans was reported, the calls to capture the tusker grew from a few outsiders and media persons early in 2020.

According to reports, the tusker, who is calm and people-friendly, was being misused by a few private resorts in the area. As the elephant often visited Masinagudi, tourists and a few others started feeding the animal, which encouraged Rivaldo to venture more into human habitat. Meanwhile, a few private resort staff started making money by allowing tourists near the elephant, thus turning him into an amusement.

Besides this, the forest officials agreed to capture Rivaldo, citing an incident in February when three miscreants threw a torched stick at a 40-year-old male elephant. In the video, the elephant is seen suffering from great pain.

Speaking to TNM, Arun*, a wildlife activist said that the elephant has been there for so long that many local residents have grown up seeing Rivaldo wander about. “We understand his movement pattern and habits. If the tusker was being misused by a few, steps should have been taken to curb such activities, and not capture and captivate the animal," he said.

“The officials took steps to capture the tusker after a campaign by a few media persons and someone from Bengaluru, who had settled in MTR. Additionally, the poor implementation of the law is the reason for such a turn of events,” said Arun.

As the first step towards capturing the tusker, the forest officials in February decided to rehome Rivaldo in Theppakadu Elephant Camp near Mettupalayam from Vazhaithottam in Nilgiris district. The officials tried to lure him into the camp by leaving a fruit trail. When barely six kilometres away from the camp, Rivaldo escaped the trap set by the officials. Following this, the officials in subsequent months, tried to capture the elephant in a kraal and radio collar him.

Finally, after multiple attempts, the officials succeeded in capturing the elephant in a kraal on May 5, citing reasons such as injury in the trunk, training and to avoid human-animal conflicts.

Right after the capture of the elephant, several wildlife activists and conservationists criticised the move by forest officials and demanded the elephant's release at the earliest. A case was also moved to the Madras High Court.

Arun said that Rivaldo is a wild tusker who has been habituated to free life, and that putting him in a kraal will take a physical and mental toll on him. “Rivaldo is moving in forest land, which is encroached by humans. The Department should take steps to remove the encroachment, not the animal," he pointed out.

With each passing day, the voices for Rivaldo’s release grew louder. Maneka Gandhi, an animal rights activist and BJP MP, wrote to Chief Minister MK Stalin, urging Rivaldo’s release.

In a letter, Maneka wrote that Rivaldo has been captured and trained to be a captive elephant unnecessarily. The Madras High Court had also ordered the release of the elephant after ‘treatment’ and added that he's not to be kept in captivity. Subsequently, in June, an eight-member committee was formed to decide on Rivaldo’s release.

After a month-long preparation, the Forest Department decided to free Rivaldo in August.

On August 2, Rivaldo, who was radio collared, was released at Chikkala forest of MTR. Though the officials initially assumed that the elephant would stay in the forest, Rivaldo quickly paced to Sigur region and subsequently to Masinagudi. According to forest officials, he covered 40 kms in 24 hours to reach Mavanallah.

This is reportedly the first time in India that a captive elephant has been released into the forest after being kept in a kraal. As the animal is radio collared, forest officials are intimated if the tusker wanders near human habitat. Meanwhile, according to officials, the villagers are being informed to not feed or abuse the animal under any circumstances.

Regarding the 'experiment' conducted by the forest officials, some wildlife activists are of the view that the plan was unwarranted.

Commenting on this, Joseph Hoover, a member of State Board for Wildlife in Karnataka, who has been closely following the incident, said, “There is no doubt that the experiment failed and the tusker was needlessly captured by the Forest Department. Having a wild elephant in captivity would have caused huge stress on the animal.”

“Before capturing the elephant, the officials should have analysed the damages he had caused, and in Rivaldo’s case, there were none. However, still the officials under various pressures, decided to capture and conduct an experiment with the elephant and persisted despite the Madras High Court's order to release the elephant. Importantly, when the Tamil Nadu Forest Department was well equipped, why did it bring in the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), which does not have enough geographical knowledge about the place, and demoralise its own staff?” questioned Joseph.

“Firstly, we cannot experiment with endangered species, and in the past, we have failed in such experiments. And for future such experiments, the Tamil Nadu Forest Department should take the Rivaldo case as a study,” added Joseph.

Shekar Kumar Niraj, a Chief Wildlife Warden, however says Rivaldo is healthy and happy after his release. “After I took charge in July, when I inquired about Rivaldo, I found that he was feeding himself and he did not have any ailments that would have prevented his release into the forest. Hence after extensive planning for over a month, we released him in August in a healthy and happy condition.”

“Though we expected that he would take two or more months, in a matter of days, he quickly reached his home range in Masinagudi. However, as he has been radio collared, we are constantly tracking him and warning villagers to not feed or abuse him,” added the Warden.

When asked about bringing in the WWF, he said, “Including Department staff, there were more than 100 people employed for the animal's release and among them, only five persons were from the WWF. They have been part of such experiments and have enough knowledge.”

Commenting on Rivaldo’s capture, the Warden said, “I am not aware of what pressure or compulsion the officers previously had, but it was only fair to release him and not hold him captive anymore in his best interests.”

Lastly, the Warden said that following this experiment, many other elephants in Tamil Nadu will be released as it is only ideal for them to be in the wild rather than in camps.

Antony Rubin, an animal activist who met Rivaldo in 2013 during his trunk injury said that Rivaldo despite the injury and over the years has hurt no one. Mark Davidar, a late conservationist fed Rivaldo and treated his injuries, even during his treatment, Rivaldo was calm and friendly. 

“Although capturing Rivaldo could have been avoided, the Tamil Nadu forest department has taken a significant step in releasing him to the wild and this being the first case in the state, it should be encouraged,”added Antony.

“It is a positive change that we all welcome and the Chief Minister MK Stalin himself taking note of Rivaldo’s release is a welcoming change,”said Antony.

(*name changed on request)