Translocated elephant spotted near railway station

: A 25-year old wild elephant, recently captured and translocated from the city outskirts to Varagaliyar, about 100 km from here,was spotted near a railway station at nearby Tirupur district Saturday, police said.

The elephant, nicknamed Chinnathambi, was translocated on January 25, following complaints from residents on destroying crops and damaging houses for the last seven months.

The pachyderm was also fitted with a radio-collar to monitor its movements.

On January 31, the elephant returned to Angalakurichi hamlet from Varagaliyar, covering nearly 50 kms, without disturbing the villagers.

Though forest department officials drove it away, the pachyderm was found moving around a railway station near Madathukulam in Tirupur district this morning, covering more than 100 km in two days, through the forests, police said.

People ran helter skelter after seeing the elephant. But they soon realised it was not intent on harming them,following which they started clicking photographs and taking selfies, even as forest department officials kept vigil.

Meanwhile, State forest minister Dindigul Srinivasan said a decision would be taken to make the elephant a kumki(trained elephant).

Talking to reporters on the sidelines of a workshop on Western Ghats here, he said if the elephant continued its journey, it would be put in a wooden cage and tamed with the help of other kumkis in elephant camps.

A strategy would be worked out to capture the elephant after discussons with officials, he said.