CHENNAI: A day after successful release, elephant Rivaldo is back in Masinagudi keeping foresters on their toes. Though it comes as a setback, the forest department has ruled out recapturing the elephant and putting him back in the kraal. Instead, the department has strengthened its ground teams deploying additional anti-poaching watchers and drones to monitor the movement and prevent local people from feeding the elephant. The help of few NGOs was also sought to create awareness among the villagers.
Chief Wildlife Warden Shekhar Kumar Niraj confirmed to The New Indian Express that Rivaldo has moved very fast and Sigur plateau is part of his home range. "The elephant will go back to the forest, if people do not feed him and come into unnecessary contact. We have decided not to capture Rivaldo and make him suffer inside the kraal. We have kept kumkis and anti-depredation squads ready to drive the elephant back into the jungle. People's cooperation is pivotal."
The forest department suffered its first setback in the wee hours of Tuesday when the radio collar fitted to the elephant failed to transmit satellite signals. The ground teams had to trek for four hours before tracking Rivaldo at 2 pm, who by then was already moving towards Sigur. The department left no stone unturned in their efforts to ensure Rivaldo doesn't end up again in these villages.
The satellite signal was lost from 2 am to 6 am, but was later restored. A team of anti-poaching watchers, veterinarians and officials was dispatched to track the elephant with the help of radio telemetry devices, GPS enabled walkie talkies and drones. Niraj also joined the ground team at about 8 am.
"After about four hours of trek following the elephant signs through the dense vegetation, we were able to locate Rivaldo near game hut road morning eastward towards Sigur. We have followed the path the elephant has moved depending on its signs such as foraging, dung, rubbing etc. The elephant is healthy and seems to have reclaimed all his wild behaviour," Niraj said.
However, the major concern of him returning to Masinagudi and Vazhaithottam was always there. Niraj said that a permanent wireless control room set-up in Theppakadu was providing the location of the elephant on hourly basis. "We are regularly collecting the data on movement pattern, health condition, water intake, resting pattern and drone footage, which will be useful for conducting a detailed study in
the future."
Mohanraj from World Wildlife Fund (WWF-India), who assisted the forest department in the Rivaldo's release operation and currently camped in Nilgiris, told The New Indian Express that the good news was Rivaldo is healthy and feeding on natural fodder in the wild. As far as him moving towards Sigur comes as no surprise considering the fact that it is part of his home range.
"Elephants follow water and Sigur river provides them with that. Many tuskers forage around Sigur. If Rivaldo is moving towards Sigur, it does not mean that it is going for the people there. The forest epartment must monitor Rivaldo for at least a year or two, which would provide sufficient data to draw
conclusions."