One of the Theppakadu Elephant Camp’s most remarkable success stories, that of the rehabilitation of ‘Moorthy’, a makhna (tuskless male) elephant believed to have killed 23 people in Kerala before his capture in 1998, came to an end on Saturday, after the elephant died at the camp in the late evening.
Moorthy, who was also known as a reliable “kumki” elephant in operations against wild elephants, retired in 2022 and spent the year in retirement, being treated for age-related illnesses. Believed to be around 60 years, Moorthy is said to have killed 23 people during negative human-elephant interactions in Kerala, and was to be shot and killed by the Kerala forest department.
In a rather fortunate turn of events for the elephant, he ventured into the forests of Tamil Nadu, where he was captured and brought to the Theppakadu Elephant Camp. He is said to have even killed two more persons once he ventured into the Gudalur forest division while fleeing from Kerala.
Riddled with bullet marks all over his legs, the elephant bore the marks of his run-ins with human communities all his life, as farmers looking to protect their crops would fire live rounds at him, possibly leading to his aggressiveness towards humans.
He was named after a forest veterinarian, Krishnamoorthy, who not only sedated and captured Moorthy but also treated the elephant for his injuries after he was brought to Theppakadu. In a statement, Field Director of MTR, D. Venkatesh, said that following the elephant’s capture, it was tamed and quickly became one of the most docile and dependable elephants at the camp, assisting the forest department in multiple operations to mitigate negative human-elephant interactions.
“For the past one year, the elephant’s condition had deteriorated due to old age and was being treated. However, we are very saddened to inform that Moorthy died of age-related conditions at around 9 p.m on Saturday,” said Mr. Venkatesh.
