Arikomban enters Kanyakumari wildlife sanctuary, officials monitoring tusker's movement

Chennai: The wild tusker, Arikomban, who was captured and translocated to the Upper Kodayar area of Muthukuzhi forest near Cumbum, has moved to the Kanyakumari wildlife sanctuary.

The elephant was last spotted near the Kodayar Dam. However, the Tamil Nadu forest department revealed they had lost signals from the radio collar on the elephant from Friday morning onwards. 

By the time the issue was resolved, the elephant had entered the Kanyakumari forest region, the officials said. 

Arikomban, which rampaged through the residential areas in Idukki’s Chinnakanal, was translocated to Periyar Tiger Reserve on April 29. Later, it strayed into Cumbum town on May 27 and allegedly attacked a man in Theni who later died. 

After an overnight journey in a specially designed ambulance, travelling in the districts abutting the western ghats, wild tusker Arikomban was freed in the forest of upper Kodayar in Tamil Nadu's Kanyakumari district bordering Kerala on June 6.