Late on May 25, Arikompan made an attempt to return home. Forest officials tracked him to within 100 metres of a human habitation in Kumily, a village of spice and tea plantations, spread across a valley, in the Idukki district of Kerala. The lone tusker, now 36 years old, who was once part of a herd of 12, soon returned to the deep forests of Periyar Tiger Reserve in Thekkady, on the Kerala-Tamil Nadu border, 8 km away. For a change, the animal, partially blind in its right eye, caught after trampling seven people to death, injuring many more, and destroying at least 25 homes and shops, didn’t cause any damage to people or property. He did try to get some rice en route, but left without it.
Arikompan, derived from the Malayalam ari meaning rice and kompan meaning tusker, has developed both a personality and a reputation over the years, much like other elephants, Chakkakompan, a wild tusker who loves jackfruit in the same region, and Arisi Raja (rice king, in Tamil) of Pollachi in Tamil Nadu. Known to love rice, Arikompan often raided homes and shops in the Santhanpara and Chinnakanal panchayats, looking for food. In March and April, during the musth period, when bulls mate, he was found with two cow elephants and two babies.
With both villagers and the forest staff fearful of the elephant’s unpredictable raids over the last 10 years, the State forest department filed an affidavit detailing the damage Arikompan had caused. Based on this, the Kerala High Court, on April 13, ordered the translocation of the animal first to Parambikulam and then to Periyar Tiger Reserve, after consulting an expert committee.
