Kumily: As per confirmed by the Tamil Nadu Forest Department, rogue tusker Arikomban which was translocated to Periyar Tiger Reserve from Idukki’s Chinnakanal has entered its forest range on Friday. It was seen near the lower camp power house in the Tamil Nadu forest.
As per the signal recieved from the elephant’s radio collar, it is roaming around 10 km away from Kumily. As per reports, the elephant is moving towards the route to Chinnakanal. According to sources, the elephant is likely to cross the Kottarakkara-Dindigul National Highway and reach Mathikettan Shola through Tamil Nadu forest route.
Forest officials assumed that the elephant may return to Chinnakanal once it reaches Mathikettan Shola. Tamil Nadu is on high alert as the wildelephant has entered its forest range and continued to move from one place to another. Though experts rubbished the chances of Arikomabn’s return to Chinnakanal, signals from its radio collar suggest that it is moving towards Chinnakanal. Mathikettan Shola is situated in a hilly range. Arikomban can easily reach Chinnakanal once it descends from this hilly area.
On Thursday, Arikomban was spotted within a 6-km radius of Kumily. After exploring the area, the elephant returned to Medakanam, the spot where it was released in the Periyar tiger reserve. Medakanam is the largest range in Periyar east division. Arikomban had returned to the same spot the previous day as well. The forest department is monitoring the data from the GPS collar attached to the tusker and the VHF antenna.
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