Tamil Nadu: Wild elephant dies as Madukkarai forest officials try to tame it

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• published: 23 Jun 2016
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It has become a common thing to hear of a wild elephant's death in Tamil Nadu. A week ago an elephant was found dead near a train track in Madukkarai forest. A week before that a mother and a calf died after coming in contact with an electric fence. It is to be noted that raising fences with high tension electricity passing through it is illegal in the state. MAN-ANIMAL CLASH The Madukkarai forest has remained a haven to endangered species in South India since ages. But as encroachment and human settlements began cropping up in the forest, the animals had no option but to venture into human terrritories. The Madukkarai forests have been encroached and turned into plantations, private educational institutions, granite quarries, cement factories and residential plots. All this has occurred under the watchful eyes of the forest officials. As the human settlements began expanding, the newly settled people began looking at the original forest inhabitants – the wild animals - as pests. Human encounters with leopards have become a common thing, but the animal that seems to have suffered the most in these encounters is the genus Pachyderm. For thousands of years, Madukkarai is bang in the middle of a corridor used by the elephants while migrating from Kerala and Tamil Nadu for the monsoon. But now, train tracks and plantations with dangerous electric fences have come up everywhere in the elephant corridor. However, the forest officials instead of monitoring and stopping such encroachments seem to be turning a blind eye to the situation and are not taking any action. The forest guards try to either chase away the animals with unrecommended practices or kill the intruding animals. Many cases have been recorded of tigers being tagged as man-eaters and killed at sight by the forest depatrment itself. In a recent case, an 18-year-old tusker which had separated from its herd met a tragic death due to negligence on various levels by the forest officials. He was called 'Madukkarai Maharaj' though at first the officials coined the term 'Encounter Maharaj' which came under scrutiny as it was unethical and uncalled for. UNSCIENTIFIC METHODS Maharaj had separated from its herd and had entered plantation lands. Some forest guards along with the locals had tried and failed in pushing the majestic beast back into the forest. Maharaj became a hero to environmentalists as he battled all alone to claim the land which once belonged to the pachyderms. Finally, unable to push the elephant back into the forest, the forest officials decided to capture and tame Maharaj. They brought in three fully grown, strong tuskers from Anamalai tiger reserve and Chadiyaval camp and one tusker called Kaleem to lead them But within this period, Maharaj befriended two other elephants and had turned passive. Had he been given some time, Maharaj would have definitely returned to the dense forest. The forest guards, meanwhile, acting on orders from top officials, decide to go ahead with the plan despite protests and pleas by environmentalists. MIGHTY MAHARAJA SUCCUMBS After a six-hour-long battle Maharaj was overpowered and tied to a rope and loaded into a truck. Maharaj's hind legs were bleeding from wounds caused by the tight ropes and those caused by Kaleem's tusks. Finally subdued, Maharaj was taken to Valakariyaru to be kept in a wooden pen. Wildlife officials were boasting about their success even though video footage of Maharaj's capture showed that there was no scientific method employed at any stage and the scene was entirely pitiful. Later, as things settled and everyone began to think that the episode was over, news of Maharaj's death inside the holding pen arrived. Though the official cause of the elephant’s death has not yet been revealed, unconventional methods used by the forest officials and an overdose of tranquilisers by veterinarians can't be ruled out. Maharaj's death has only brought out the various levels of discrepancies within the forest department and how insensitive they have become towards conserving such endangered species which are delicately hanging on a thread not far from extinction.