Coimbatore: Entering into his 100th day inside the Kraal, Chinnathambi, the famous male elephant who was captivated inside the wooden cage on February 16, earlier this year at the Anamalai Tiger Reserve (ATR), is dogged by rumours of illness.
Coimbatore: Entering into his 100th day inside the Kraal, Chinnathambi, the famous male elephant who was captivated inside the wooden cage on February 16, earlier this year at the Anamalai Tiger Reserve (ATR), is dogged by rumours of illness.
The tusker aged around 25 hit the spotlight in Coimbatore, amidst the huff and puff of the aftermath of the Lok Sabha elections, when a rumour claiming he had fallen ill inside the Kraal. The rumour message that was circulated on social media also claimed that the illness was due to poor management by forest personnel.
However, this time the falsity was immediately confronted by senior officials with the ATR, who assured that the pachyderm was in good condition and is being constantly monitored by mahouts and veterinarians.
“At a time when the training process is near completion and the animal is a short time away from being released, such rumours should be avoided to complete the process peacefully. The mahouts at the Varagaliyar elephant training camp possess good expertise in handling and taming elephants and have trained many elephants in the past successfully,” said a senior official from ATR.
According to sources, unlike other captivated elepahnts, Chinnathambi has not been aggressive inside the Kraal.
“Usually, wild elephants show hostile behaviour once the drug wears off. It takes atleast a few weeks for the animal to get used to the condition. But it was not the case with Chinnathambi, he was friendly since day one,” said an official.
Officials added that Chinnathambi was hand fed by the mahouts, adding that mahouts have also been able to mount on the animal, after which it can be released out of the Kraal.
However, releasing the animal outside is a very risky task and can be done only after a good trust is built between the animal and the mahout.
Notably, Chinnathambi created a huge circus when he came out of the reserve from Varagaliyar after being translocated there from Thadagam. From there, Chinnathambi’s exodus continued all the way upto to Dindigul District, after which he halted after returning to a sugarcane field in Udumalaipet.
He was captured again on February 15 and was shut inside the Kraal around early midnight. It has been 100 days as of Sunday, since Chinnathambi was put inside the Kraal.