Tuskless elephant suspected in three deaths at Kannur's Aralam Farm captured, to be taken to Wayanad

Kannur: “Yes, 'Mozha aana' has been caught. But the truck is still stuck in the mud. We are all here.” Shobha V, a resident of Aralam Farm and now the president of Aralam Panchayat, felt a sense of relief, having seen up close the havoc the tuskless elephant had unleashed over the past couple of years.

The tuskless male elephant, known locally as ‘Mozha Aana’ and identified by Forest officials as KM-1 (Kannur Makhna-1), is suspected of being responsible for three deaths in Aralam Farm. More than two months after the government ordered its capture, Forest officials darted the elephant on Thursday and began moving it to Wayanad Wildlife Sanctuary for observation and treatment.

“KM1 was darted around 11 am in Block 13 of the settlement area,” Kannur Divisional Forest Officer K Saji told Onmanorama. It was the same block where an elderly couple was trampled to death in February 2025.
The moment the tranquilising dart hit, the elephant sprinted away. “We had to wait around three hours for the effect to set in,” Saji said.

The elephant was later loaded onto a truck around 6 pm. "But heavy rain turned the ground into a paddy field, and the truck got stuck in the mud," said the official.

Forest officials had made a new mud road up to where the elephant was standing using an earthmover. They also made a ramp and loaded the elephant onto the truck. But because of the mud, the truck got stuck. We are trying to pull it out using a JCB,” Saji said. "Once it reaches the road, we will be taking it to Wayanad."

Officials said they are administering small booster doses at intervals to keep KM-1 sedated during the journey.

On July 27, the Chief Wildlife Warden ordered the capture, radio-collaring and relocation of KM-1 to a larger natural landscape, after Forest officials linked the elephant to multiple attacks. It was the first such relocation order for an elephant from Aralam Farm, where wild elephants routinely enter human settlements.

The department had linked KM-1 to the death of Aneesh, a daily-wage labourer from Block 10, whose body was found on February 27. His body bore signs consistent with having been thrown to the ground by an elephant, while footprints found at the site were identified as those of KM-1, according to a Forest Department report.

The elephant was also suspected of killing an elderly couple, Leela (75) and her 80-year-old husband Velli, in Block 13 on February 23, 2025.

KM-1 was also blamed for attacks on Forest Department vehicles. On June 27, it charged at and overturned a jeep of the Rapid Response Team (RRT) at Valayamchal in Block 9 around 5.30 am. Five Forest Department personnel in the stationary vehicle escaped with minor injuries. It was the second attack on an RRT vehicle within a week, according to Forest officials.

KM-1 is estimated to be 20 to 25 years old. The DFO said its behaviour was unusual for a makhna, a male elephant without tusks. The elephant was also suspected of causing extensive crop damage in the settlement.

Since July 27, a special team led by RRT veterinary doctor Dr Elias Rowther has been monitoring KM1's health and behaviour.

The capture was delayed partly because of the time taken to build a kraal, a strong log enclosure to house the elephant, at the Muthanga Elephant Camp inside the Wayanad Wildlife Sanctuary, said an official. The decision to build an enclosure was taken because of concerns about the elephant’s behaviour and physical condition. “Otherwise, if it were a normal case, we could have taken it from here and released it somewhere else in the forest. But since it was showing behavioural problems, we have to observe it before releasing it. We need to know whether it has any illness or other problem,” he said.

After KM-1's capture, Forest officials found a small wound on one of its legs and another injury on its trunk. These will be examined and treated in Wayanad. “If those injuries are connected to the behavioural problems it has been showing, then it has to be treated before it can be released,” Saji said.

The elephant will not necessarily be released in Wayanad, he said. Its eventual release site will be decided by the Chief Wildlife Warden based on the assessment of the animal and the advice of the veterinary team, the DFO said.