Kumkis were used to restrain the tusker when Forest Department mahouts tied ropes around its neck and legs
| Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
The Forest Department captured a male wild elephant, called by some locals as ‘Rolex’, at Ichukkuzhi near Thondamuthur in Coimbatore district early on Friday (October 17, 2025).
The tusker that is believed to have killed at least four persons in the past several months was taken to the Anamalai Tiger Reserve (ATR), where it will be lodged in a kraal (wooden enclosure) at Varagaliar elephant camp.
Forest Department teams from Coimbatore and Boluvampatti forest ranges had been after the tusker since September 5, after Chief Wildlife Warden Rakesh Kumar Dogra ordered its capture. Farmers and villagers from the region had also been demanding its translocation.
Capture efforts
Additional Director (retd) of Veterinary Services N.S. Manoharan and Forest Veterinary Officer E. Vijayaraghavan from the Anamalai Tiger Reserve attempted to tranquillise the tusker first in the early hours of September 17. The elephant, however, gave them the slip and moved inside the forest.
The efforts to capture the elephant came to a halt after it attacked Dr. Vijayaraghavan at Kempanur near Thondamuthur early on September 20. The operation resumed on October 12. Four kumkis (trained elephants) — Chinnathambi, Kapildev, Wasim, and Bomman — were stationed at Kempanur for the operation.
According to D. Venkatesh, Chief Conservator of Forests and Field Director of ATR, the tusker aged around 40 has been very sensitive to light and sound. The elephant ventured into agricultural fields only at night and it retracted to the forest upon confronting anything unusual.
A dedicated team monitored the elephant for 25 days and mapped its routes before Friday’s operation. A team of veterinarians comprising N. Kalaivanan, K. Rajesh Kumar, S. Vennila, and Muthuramalingam tranquillised the tusker around 2 a.m. on Friday. Kumkis Kapildev, Wasim, and Bomman were used to restrain the tusker when Forest Department mahouts tied ropes around its neck and legs. The elephant was loaded onto a modified truck and was taken to Varagaliar around 8 a.m.
District Forest Officer N. Jayaraj and Forest Range Offices K. Jayachandran and V. Thirumurugan supervised the operation.
Mr. Jayaraj said the team could execute the operation as per plan as there was no rain. The region has been receiving rains for the past few days and even a moderate shower could have affected the operation.
According to Mr. Venkatesh, the tusker’s behaviour in the kraal will be monitored for a few days, after which a decision will be made whether to tame the animal into a kumki or release it into the wild.
Published – October 17, 2025 12:54 pm IST
