Forest Dept. intensifies efforts to monitor movement of tusker at Cherambadi in Pandalur

Gudalur Forest Division staff monitoring the movement of a problematic elephant by drone at Cherambadi in Udhagamandalam.
| Photo Credit: SATHYAMOORTHY M

The Forest Department has intensified efforts at monitoring an elephant that has been damaging houses at Cherambadi in Pandalur.

The operation to discourage the elephant from venturing near human habitationslooking for food grains to consume, has been continuing with the usage of advanced drone technology as well as other more tested methods aimed at minimising negative human-animal interactions in the region.

Vengatesh Prabhu, Divisional Forest Officer (Gudalur), said that apart from thermal drone cameras that are being used to monitor and drive away the elephant when it ventures too close to human habitations, that other means of discouraging the animal are also being trialled.

These methods include spraying the dung of camp elephants from Theppakadu Elephant Camp that are in a state of musth – a natural cycle in elephants that is characterised by heightened levels of aggression in male elephants, around the houses in the region frequented by the elephant.

The animal, known to Forest Department officials as CT-16 (Cherambadi Tusker-16), and by locals as “Kottamalai Baskar” and “Bullet” is generally not known to be aggressive towards humans, the officials said, adding that the animal had become a source of concern only after it began damaging houses in search of food.

However, there had been previous instances where such elephants, unknowingly, had led to the deaths of humans, such was the case of another elephant in the region, Pandalur Makhna-2 (PM2), whose efforts at entering a house one night led to the accidental death of an elderly woman in 2022. The incident had necessitated the elephant being captured and translocated, with the animal eventually being recaptured in Kerala and now living its life in captivity in Muthanga.

Mr. Vengatesh Prabhu said that dried dung from the camp elephant was also being set alight for the smoke to serve as an additional deterrent to the elephant. “A paste of chilli and neem oil, spread on a white cloth, is also tied on the doors and windows of houses located in the labourers’ quarters in the area. The techniques are proving to be effective in localised conflict mitigation,” he added.