Mananthavadi: Thanneer Komban, the elephant that had caused terror in Mananthavady town, died on Saturday morning after being tranquillized and relocated to Bandipur forest in Karnataka. The elephant was transported in an animal ambulance on Friday night, under the watch of a sizeable group including police, forest officials from Kerala and Karnataka, and Rapid Response Team (RRT) members.
Thanneer Komban was released into Bandipur forest around 2:30 am on Saturday.
Kerala Minister for Forests and Wild Life Protection A K Saseendran said the exact cause of the death of the elephant will be determined only after a post-mortem examination. Experts from both Kerala and Karnataka will conduct the necropsy together.
"A five-member expert committee will be appointed to evaluate the sequence of events leading up to the animal’s death. This panel will consist of members from different sectors, including Vigilance, Veterinary science, animal welfare NGOs, and a legal expert. The composition and the detailed responsibilities of the com," the forest minister said. The panel formation would be finalised only after a discussion with the Chief Minister, Saseendran told reporters in Kozhikode.
After being tranqialized, the elephant spent the next 15 hours without drinking enough water. Officials feel that he might have been dehydrated leading to a heart attack. The forest department officials who arrived from Karnataka on Friday had indicated that the elephant's leg was injured.
The first dose of the tranquillizer, which was darted at 5.30 pm on Friday, missed Thanneer Komban. The second dose was administered at 5.40 pm, which hit him above his left rear leg. Another doze had to be shot around 6.30 pm after the elephant seemed to be unaffected by the first dose. Conservation Biologist Vishnu shot the dozes under the supervision of Assistant Forest Veterinarian Ajeesh Mohandas.
The elephant had been roaming around the paddy field near a plantain farm in Mananthavady since Friday afternoon. Three kumki elephants – Soorya, Vikram, and Konni Surendran – were brought in, of which two were stationed on both sides of the wild tusker and the third was placed on the rear end.
Thanneer Komban was shifted into the ambulance, specially designed for transporting elephants, using heavy cotton ropes that were pulled by the kumki elephants. Pieces of timber were placed in the ambulance to allow controlled movement for the elephant.
Besides the Wayanad RRT, led by two Divisional Forest Officers Shajna Karim (South Wayanad) and Martin Lowell (North Wayanad), and Wayanad Wildlife Warden Dinesh Kumar, officials from Karnataka Forest Department were part of the mission. Chief Conservator of Forests (North Zone) K S Deepa coordinated the entire operation, while revenue officials headed by District Collector Dr Renu Raj were also present at the spot.
Though a special wooden cage had been set up for Thanneer Komban near the Tholppetti Forest Range office premises as the elephant was expected to be kept under observation for a few days, it was later decided to shift the animal to Bandipur immediately after tranquillizing him.
Thanneer Komban didn't even damage a flower pot
Throughout the mission, which lasted almost 18 hours, the elephant remained calm and never charged or engaged in widespread destruction while crisscrossing the human habitats one after the other. As a resident put it, Thanneer Komban did not even damage a flower pot.
The elephant remained in the paddy-plantain field the whole afternoon, which helped the 100-strong RRT ensure the tranquillizers hit the right spots. It took the forest department almost an hour to pave a 50-metre path to where the Thanneer Komban was stationed.
