Padayappa, a wild elephant in Munnar named after Rajinikanth’s hit film, has many admirers in an area known for man-animal conflicts primarily because of its calm nature.
Over the years, the tusker has made “friendly” appearances on the road and where plantation workers live, helping itself to food stored in shops without damaging the shops as such. However, for the past several months, the tusker is believed to have undergone a behavioural change as it occasionally raided ration shops.
In the past three months, the tusker attacked three ration shops at Thalayar, Periyavarai, and Lakkad. At Lakkad alone, the tusker attacked a ration shop some nine times. Local people fear that the tusker is following in the footsteps of Arikomban, which was translocated last year after its violent ration shops raids caused a scare at Chinnakkanal near Munnar town.
