Coimbatore: Chinna thambi will return to its home terrain soon

Coimbatore: Confusion prevails among Forest department officials about elephant Chinna thambi that has camped near Udumalpet. A team of more than 60 forest staff led by Anamalai Tiger Reserve field director Ganesan, DFO Dileep, Udumalpet ranger Dhanabal and forest veterinary doctor Manoharan, along with experts from various organisations including WWF, are discussing further moves in Chinna thambi's case.

While state government has dropped the plan of capturing Chinna thambi for turning it into a kumki, following protests by activists and legal proceedings against that move, local people of the Anaikatty hills installed a flex banner and are circulating messages on social media demanding justice for Chinna thambi and action against the 101 encroachers of the elephant migratory path and corridors in the forest fringe areas of Coimbatore forest division.

 They alleged it includes the “red-sand smuggling mafia” that owns hundreds of brick kilns in Thadagam valley.

After observing Chinna thambi eating the waste molasses disposed off from the sugarcane mill and becoming unconscious, the Forest department immediately pumped out the stagnant waste molasses on Tuesday.

A forest source said, “Officials were shocked to see that Chinna thambi remained calm despite walking hundreds of kilometers without food. It also became the friend of kumkis camped at Krishnapuram village in Udumalpet. Local villagers are bringing sugarcane and banana for Chinna thambi daily and this is being given to him through forest AP watchers.  Even after walking several kilometers along the roads and residential areas from Anamalai, Chinna thambi did not charge anyone .  Officials plan to relocate Chinna thambi to its home terrain Thadagam.”