The radio collar fitted on wild tusker Arikompan, which was translocated from Chinnakanal to the Periyar Tiger Reserve (PTR) on Sunday, indicate that it went on a sojourn to Tamil Nadu forest and is now back in Kerala forest.
“The tusker moved to Vannathippara forests in Tamil Nadu on Monday evening. The last signal received from the radio collar on Tuesday at 4 a.m. indicates that the tusker was five-km inside the Kerala forest. The animal may be under some thick canopy, which we suspect could be impeding signals from the collar at present,” says a forest official.
Before its translocation to the PTR, the forest department had attached a satellite radio collar to the tusker, which officials say provides signals without mobile range.
“The signals are set in a time limit of one hour in the collar. The current location of the tusker will be available on an application in mobile phones. Now, the satellite radio collar signals are monitored by the Periyar Tiger Reserve East Division Deputy Director and the specially formed Arikompan monitoring team.”
“The radio collar has an inbuilt battery which may last 2.5 to three years. After a few months, the signal timing will change to four hours. The present battery will be capable of providing data for the next three years,” says the official.
“The World Wildlife Fund from Assam handed over the gadget to the Kerala Forest Department free of charge.”
Meanwhile, after the successful mission, two kumki elephants Kunju and Surendran were taken back to the Muthanga elephant camp on Tuesday. Devikulam range officer P.V. Vegi said the other two kumkis Surya and Vikram would be taken to Muthanga on Thursday.
However, a day after Arikomban was translocated to the PTR, a herd of wild elephants led by tusker Chakkakompan attacked a hut at Vilakk, near Chinnakkanal.
According to local residents, the elephants attacked the hut of Rajan around 5 a.m. The family members were not at home then. They said the elephants destroyed the hut. The herd, besides Chakkakompan, comprised two cow elephants and two calves. The herd had been camping near the point where Arikompan was darted for the past three days..
