Elephant 'Chinnathambi' finds backer in AIML

Chinnathambi, the wild elephant that has been in the news for destroying crops much to the concern of farmers, Monday found a supporter in the All India Muslim League. The AIML has petitioned the district Collector to spare the animal as it protected the Western Ghats from encroachers who have destroyed the flora and fauna of the forests.

The petition said Chinnathambi should be brought back to Thadagam on the outskirts of the city from where the elephant was translocated to Varagaliyar, about 150 km from here, after it ran amok. The forest department officials were monitoring the elephant's movement and engaged in driving it to the jungle areas, the police said.

They said the rogue elephant, which was moving around Udumalpet in nearby Tirupur district covering over 300 kms, destroyed 10 to 15 trees in a coconut grove. Meanwhile, submitting his report on Chinnathambi to the Madras High Court, an expert Ajay Desai said the elephant was now completely habituated to humans as it does not react to people even when they are within 15-20 feet of it.

The expert said the elephant should be captured, brought into captivity and trained like all other elephants in the forest camp where it can lead a semi-natural life and be a productive part of conservation efforts. The report was filed along with the counter affidavit filed by additional principal chief conservator of forests, Coimbatore, before the Division Bench in connection with the public interest litigation (PIL). see On February 7, an animal rights body had urged the Tamil Nadu government to keep Chinnathambi in its natural forest home.

This plea came days after the Madras High Court had advised the authorities not to put a roaming jumbo to any discomfort..

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