Kerala forest department to train 8 Kumki jumbos to halt wild rampage

Kottayam: The Kerala forest department is planning to train eight elephants from its camps as Kumki elephants to stem the shortage of trained pachyderms to curb rampaging wild elephants.

The forest department currently has two Kumki elephants but they are undergoing  musth which makes it impossible to use their services to deal with wild elephants.

The recurrent wild elephant attacks at Marayur and Kanthalloor in Idukki district led to the forest department being compelled to train the eight elephants who were currently at the elephant camps of the forest department.

The forest department had 30 elephants in is elephant camps at Kottoor, Kodanad, Konny and Wayanad.

“The shortage of Kumki elephants is affecting the activities to resist the attack of wild elephants intruding into human settlements,”, Chief Wild Life Warden, KJ Varghese told DC.

The trained mahouts of the forest department will administer the training which is likely to be completed in three months.