Mission 'Arikomban' accomplished! Wild rice-eating tusker captured and being taken to Periyar

The Idukki district's 30-year-old wild elephant Arikomban is well-known for raiding homes and ration stores in quest of rice.  

Idukki: The long 'Mission Arikomban' was accomplished on Saturday after the Kerala forest officials tranquilized the wild tusker after five shots. The forest officials along with four Kumki elephants were involved in the process of guiding the tusker to get into a truck and it is being transported to the Kumili forest area. 

The Idukki district's 30-year-old wild elephant Arikomban is well-known for raiding homes and ration stores in quest of rice.

After a month-long court fight, the Kerala government on Friday began the mission to sedate and relocate the infamous rice-eating tusker known as "Arikomban," which has been terrorizing locals of Chinnakanal and Santhanpara panchayats for years. 

A group of officials under the direction of Chief Conservator of Forest, R S Arun, have been looking for the elephant since early Friday morning. The mission to catch and transfer the elephant has been assigned to more than one hundred authorities from the Forest Department, the KSEB, the Fire and Rescue Department, and the Health Department, among others.

The Kerala High Court had on April 19 directed the expert panel appointed by it and the state government to take a final decision by May 3 on the alternative site suggested by the Forest department for translocating the 'Arikomban'. 

The direction by the High Court came after the Forest Department said it had an alternative location in mind and would place the same before the Committee of Experts (CoE) appointed by it to decide the fate of Arikomban for its consideration. 

The court was hearing a PIL by two animal rights groups -- People for Animals (PFA), Trivandrum Chapter, and the Walking Eye Foundation for Animal Advocacy -- opposing the government's decision to keep the elephant in captivity and train it to become a kumki elephant.