The Muthanga Elephant Camp, situated in Kerala’s Wayanad district, had been closed since the 1990s. It has now been reopened, after nearly two decades, with a renewed purpose. The Kerala Forest Department is set to create its squad of ‘Kumki’ or trained elephants for the state.
The elephant camp is situated in the Muthanga Wildlife Sanctuary, which is spread over an area of 345 sq km. It is the only training camp for elephants in the state.
The camp, which was reopened in mid-April, currently houses 10 elephants.
Why a Kumki elephant squad
According to the forest department, unlike in the past, the Kumki elephants at the camp will have a different calling.
Two decades earlier, Kumki elephants in the camp were mainly trained for assistance in timber depots. By the 1990s, the forest department closed down the camp as the depots switched to machinery such as earthmovers and cranes for carrying timber, and the need for Kumki elephants gradually declined.
Now, these Kumki elephants will be trained specifically to assist the forest officials to keep away wild elephants that pose a threat to human habitation.
“Earlier, there used to be less man-animal conflict. So Kumki elephants were used just for assistance in operations at timber depots. This is not the case now. Over the last many years, the conflict between wild elephants and human beings are increasing in parts of the state. There is a need for Kumki elephants than ever before,” BN Anjan Kumar, Chief Conservator of Forests (Wildlife), Palakkad, told TNM.
The Conservator also stated that Kerala has been using Kumki elephants from neighbouring states of Tamil Nadu and Karnataka for assistance in keeping wild elephants at bay.
Recently, in March, the forest department captured Vadakkanad Komban, a tusker which was for long creating fear for the people of Vadakkanad in Wayanad. It was captured with the assistance of a Kumki elephant that was trained outside the state.
Since Tamil Nadu and Karnataka are also frequently facing similar issues, the states had expressed difficulty in lending Kumki elephants to Kerala. That is when the Kerala forest department decided to form its own Kumki squad.
Training in actual environment
Sundari, who is being trained along with two tuskers – Agasthyan and Unnikrishnan – will be the first female Kumki elephant in the state. The forest department brought the three elephants to Muthanga from the Elephant Rehabilitation Centre at Kottur in Thiruvananthapuram. They are between 11 and 14 years of age.
“The three new elephants have never confronted a wild elephant before. So, as part of the six-month training, they will be taken to the forest along with their mahouts, to help them become familiar with the forest and its surroundings,” Asif, wildlife warden of the sanctuary, told TNM.
Officials also added that Muthanga Elephant Camp is strategically located within the forest to facilitate a natural setting for training the elephants. “At times, wild elephants visit the camp. This then becomes an ideal location for training the elephants to confront the wild elephants,” Anjan Kumar said.
The camp also has three other trained Kumkis. “These three elephants were trained earlier at the Theppakadu Elephant Camp in Tamil Nadu,” Asif said.
Additionally, the camp also houses four more elephants, who are yet to be trained.
Need for trained elephants
According to forest department officials, problems of crop damage and threat to life have become common in regions near the forest. With recurrent incidents involving wild animals, officials have even identified ‘habitual crop raiders’ in many parts.
“Earlier, the animals used to retreat to the forest when people make their presence felt by creating noise. But now, this has become difficult. Kumki elephants can assist in making the wild animals retreat into the forest or in worse cases, capture them,” Anjan Kumar explained.
“People living away from forests would not necessarily understand the seriousness of the issue. In operations that are not assisted by trained elephants, people have been severely injured,” he stressed while highlighting the need to have Kumki elephants.