Coimbatore: Even as the forest department clearly stating through a detailed report from elephant expert Ajay Desai yesterday that the only way to subdue the situation is by bringing Chinnathambi under captivity, the Madras High Court has asked for yet another detailed explanation from the department, questioning the State about the possibilities of releasing Chinnathambi back into the wild.
As Chinnathambi leisurely spends his 12th day outside the forest feeding on sugar cane and ragi balls, the court extends his stay longer by adjourning the case for the third time
Coimbatore: Even as the forest department clearly stating through a detailed report from elephant expert Ajay Desai yesterday that the only way to subdue the situation is by bringing Chinnathambi under captivity, the Madras High Court has asked for yet another detailed explanation from the department, questioning the State about the possibilities of releasing Chinnathambi back into the wild.
Directing the State to ensure the safety of the 20 to 25-year-old tusker, the bench of justices S. Manikumar and Subramonium Prasad, reverted back to the State’s report asking why it would not be possible to “train Chinnathambi to eat forest fodder and then release him in the wild”.
Earlier, the department had submitted a 14 page report on Monday, which was prepared by Ajay Desai on February 8th as per the directions of the court, wherein, Mr. Desai has explained in detail, the negative outcomes of Chinnathambi’s release in the wild.
Justifying his claims to bring the animal into captivity based on science at different levels, Ajay Desai has stated that if released in a different habitat, there were more chances of the tusker replicating the same crop raiding behaviour in the new area after finding similar locations.
Explaining how the other translocated problem elephant Vinayagan also attempted to crop raid in nearby fields in Mudumalai, Bandipur and Gudalur, but was chased back to the reserve successfully, Mr. Desai has stated that strategies did not work with Chinnathambi.
“Vinayagan is currently in the middle of the Mudumalai Tiger Reserve and currently not crop raiding. Chinnathambi on the other hand was captured and translocated to Anamalai Tiger Reserve on 25th January. However, it walked out of the forest on 31st January and entered human settlements and since then till date it has been moving and living only in agricultural areas and human habitation areas,” he has said in his report.
Quoting from his earlier report on Chinnathambi wherein Mr. Desai had suggested that if left unaddressed, Chinnathambi would be more problematic than Vinayagan as Chinnathambi has grown in an abnormal situation where it considers human use areas and habitations as part of its normal range, Mr. Desai has justified his claims considering the movement of Chinnathambi deep into human habitations covering a distance of 61 kms outside the reserve until 8th of February, and continuing to move towards Dindigul.
“It does not appear to be trying to get back to Coimbatore area as its movement is away from this direction,” he said.
Further detailing the feeding habit of Chinnathambi, Mr. Desai has said that Chinnathambi has been feeding exclusively on maize and sugarcane and was moving in private farmland instigating protests. He has said that the animal had also been habituated to the presence of human beings and sound of crackers and noises.
The report claims how he is habituated to walking through villages as seen from the several videos and even does so during daytime as it is completely habituated to villages and settlements.
“This elephant does not distinguish between human use areas (agriculture and settlements) and forests. They are all the same to this elephant. All this indicate that it will come out again if relocated to the forest,” Mr. Desai has opined.
Suggesting bringing the animal into captivity as soon as possible, Mr. Desai has said that it could be the only solution for the future of Chinnathambi considering the behaviour of the animal.
“My opinion taking into account the completely abnormal behaviour of Chinnathambi, its ability to pass on its abnormal behaviour to other elephants, the danger to human life, the failure of negative conditioning and the lack any other practical option, is that this elephant should be captured and brought into captivity and trained like all other elephants in the Forest Department elephant camp where it can lead a semi-natural life and be a productive part of the conservation effort,” he has stated.
However, Mr. Desai has not recommended making Chinnathambi into a Kumki as it is not predictable and not necessary at this stage.
Meanwhile, Mr. Desai is to explain the scenario to the Madras High Court tomorrow.
The activists who had filed the PIL on the other hand have claimed that they would continue to fight for the release of Chinnathambi.