An Elephant alleged to have killed a number of people in Kerala State, India, has been relocated to a Tiger reserve away from Human populations. The Elephant, a 36-year-old male named Arikomban, is claimed to have killed seven people during raids on Rice stores in the area around Devikulam Forest in Idukki District, although this has been disputed People for Animals, an Indian Animal welfare organization, who claim their investigations have been unable to find any instances of people being directly harmed by the Elephant. What is not disputed, however, is that Arikomban is a notorious Rice-thief, and while he was able to take Rice from older Bamboo-and-Grass stores without causing much damage, as concrete and other modern building materials have become more common, the Elephant has been increasingly causing damage to property during his raids, fueling conflict with local Human populations, who have been petitioning the Kerala Forest Department to have him relocated.
Arikomban has been living around Humans since 1987, when he was a calf and his mother sustained a leg injury and was looked after by villagers near Chinnakkanal, before eventually perishing. Since that time he has tended to live around Humans, and had few interactions with other Elephants. This has included raiding Rice stores for food, something which was for a long time tolerated, but which has become more of an issue over time as the Human population has grown, a problem which has been repeated across India in recent years, where 30 000 wild Asian Elephants (60% of the global total) now co-exist with 1.4 billion Humans (18% of the global total).
The Kerala Forest department initially applied to the Kerala High Court for permission to take Arikomban into captivity, but this was rejected following opposition from Animal welfare groups. A plan was then devised to move the Elephant to the Parambikulam Tiger Reserve, about 175 km from the area where he has been living, but this was opposed by people living close to the reserve, who were alarmed by Arikomban's reputation. Following this, it was decided to relocate the Elephant to the Periyar Tiger Reserve, about 80 km from Arikomban's current home. Concerns were raised that the local Human population around Periyar might also reject Arikomban, but this appears not to have been the case, with large crowds turning out to great the Elephant as he was brought to the reserve.
Arikomban is reported to have received a deep cut on the trunk during his capture, for which he was treated before being released. He was also fitted with a radio collar to monitor his progress. He was provided with several barrels of water laced with antibiotics for his wound, which were later found overturned, as well as several stores of food which it is hoped will help sustain him while he adapts to foraging in the wild. Tracking collar data has revealed that he was approached by a small herd of six local Elephants shortly after his release, but that these retreated without any apparent interaction.
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