The wild tusker known as Arikompan on a tea plantation at Periyakanal in Idukki.
| Photo Credit: SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT
A Division Bench of the Kerala High Court on Thursday stayed an order of the Principal Chief Conservator (Wildlife) and Chief Wildlife Warden permitting the forest officials to tranquillise and capture the wild tusker known as Arikompan now roaming in Munnar. The operation for the capture of the elephant was earlier scheduled for Saturday and Sunday.
The Bench passed the interim order during a special sitting held at the night on a petition filed by People for Animal, Thiruvananthapuram chapter, seeking a directive to the State government and the Chief Wildlife Warden to translocate the animal to a deep forest area using scientific methods in the event of it being tranquillised and captured.
The court also directed the Forest department to keep a tab on the movement of the elephant and ensure that it does not carry out any further destructions in the area.
The court posted the petition for further hearing on March 29.
The petitioner said that as per Section 11 of the Wild Life (Protection) Act, the Chief Wildlife Warden can take any of the three decisions: firstly, to hunt/kill a wild animal, secondly to translocate and rehabilitate the animal to a forest, and thirdly to keep the animal in captivity. Killing or hunting a wild animal could be ordered only in if it was impossible to capture, tranquillize and translocate it.
The petitioner pointed out that destructive and unscientific methods of capturing an elephant and relocating it from its natural habitat to artificial habitat was against the spirit of the law. In fact, on a reading of Section 11, it is crystal-clear that the primary focus should be on the translocation of the animal and rehabilitation in the wild. Once the Chief Wildlife Warden is satisfied that the rehabilitation of the animal in the wild is impossible, only then an order for keeping the animal in captivity could be passed.
The petitioner pointed out that the name Arikompan was given to the wild elephant because it likes rice and raids ration shops and other houses for rice. The tusker is familiar with the residents of the Santhapara and Chinnakanal grama panchayats bordering Munnar. He has been given a heroic image by the nearby residents of Chinakkanal due to its humungous figure and naughtiness.
The petitioner submitted that there are no reported incidents of any attack on humans yet by Arikompan. The grama panchayats had passed resolutions urging the Forest department to capture and relocate it immediately. The human interventions in the wild and the lack of food and water caused by encroachment of forest boundary are the root cause of this present human-wild animal conflict in Kerala. Arimkompan is just another victim of the said conflict, it was contended.
