With 150 hunters: Indian authorities catch aggro elephants after more than 5 years

The story sounds a bit like a cheap horror movie. But according to a report in the Indian Express newspaper, it is sadly serious: For more than five years, a wild elephant has been “terrorizing” the people of the Idukki district in the Indian state of Kerala. Because of its fondness for rice in particular, there were repeated confrontations between the animal, which people christened “Arikomban”, which translates as “rice tusk”. At least six people were killed by the aggressive elephant.

Local authorities have been trying for years to capture the problem animal and relocate it. But Arikomban proved to be extremely clever and evaded the fighters again and again. Now his fondness for rice became the fatal outcome of the elephant bull, estimated to be about 30 years old. Arikomban raided two villages in the region last Friday where he feasted on his favorite foods and other grains.

Its appearance in the villages later enabled authorities to locate the animal along with its herd in the nearby hills. They then assembled a hunting team of about 150 officers and four trained Kumki elephants to finally capture Arikomban.

But the bull was able to withstand this large contingent longer than planned. According to the newspaper report, it takes five injections of sedatives to incapacitate the elephant. When successful, the hunters maneuvered him into a truck with the help of specially trained rescue elephants. There, Arikomban was fitted with a GPS strap to make it easy to locate in the future. The animal was then dumped in a game reserve further away from human settlements.

Violent clashes between humans and elephants are common in India and often fatal. Conservationists blame the spread of humans into the pachyderms’ habitat. They are essentially peaceful creatures, but they can become very violent when defending their territory. (con)