Why did free-spirited Chinnathambi go rogue?

The ancient Greek philosopher and scientist Aristotle who observed the growth laws for mammals said, “The elephant is the beast which passeth all others in wit and mind.” What was said around 350 BC is still relevant as the elephants across the Indian sub-continent time and again prove their intelligence, by outsmarting homo sapiens.

The latest example is Chinnathambi, who captured the imagination of Tamil Nadu with his antics over the last month. The free-spirited, crop-raiding and allegedly spirit-drinking pachyderm was tranquilised and captured amid protests from green activists, and taken out of Coimbatore.

Prior to his capture, Chinnathambi, a playful giant, caused farmers to run helter-skelter whenever he left the forests. And while many declared that he was a ‘rogue elephant’, biologists and anti-poaching watchers noted that Chinnathambi displayed superior intelligence and a deep understanding of human behaviour.

Chinnathambi (25) will now be stationed in a kraal, a wooden structure leaving no space for the elephant to move, and will be trained to shed his gained intelligence and survival skills, which he acquired by traversing tiger reserves and surviving in villages outside Coimbatore. 

Besides dealing with the trauma of being a captive elephant, he will now have to learn commands and be an unpaid employee of the Forest Department.

One may recall the tragic case of a captured wild elephant, ‘Madukkarai Maharaj’, which died at the elephant camp at Varagliyar near Top Slip in 2016, two days after it was captured. The tusker had suffered injuries, including multiple fractures on its forehead, while trying to free itself from the kraal.

“He knows when to be submissive and when to assert himself. Chinnathambi was submissive and friendly with Kalim, a majestic Forest Department kumki (a trained captive elephant), but would chase away other less aggressive kumkis,” observesd conservation scientist A Kumaraguru, member, Sathyamangalam Tiger Conservation Authority. According to him, the elephant could have been traumatised, and that’s what caused him to get defiant. 

“What made him take to getting food easily could be because he belonged to a broken herd of Periyathambi (who was electrocuted) and Vinayagan (who is now translocated to Mudumalai). The problem arises from TN forests getting fragmented, which is causing herds to break into just three-four members. These nuclear herds are more insecure and have a tougher fight for survival,” Kumaraguru explains.

There is no doubt that Chinnathambi displayed greater intelligence and spirit than many other elephants, which is why many activists and Forest Department officials were upset over the decision to put him in a kraal. 

“We know that the root cause behind the changed behaviour of these three elephants (Periyathambi, Vinayagan and Chinnathambi) is man-animal conflict and political pressure due to public complaints, but our job is to protect both the animal and the public,” said a forester who is part of operations Vinayagan and Chinnathambi.

“The death of Madukkarai Maharaj and his long, anguished trumpets at the time of capture still haunt me. Chinnathambi is soft-natured when compared to Maharaj. These animals go berserk during their stay in a kraal, because they are tamed using harsh methods like food restrictions and starvation. We hope that Chinnathambi can survive the training,” the forester said.

The capture of Chinnathambi was initiated on the advice of Ajai Desai, a well-known Asiatic elephant expert, who recommended to the Madras High Court that capturing of the jumbo is the last resort as all efforts to chase back Chinnathambi into wild have proven futile.

Explaining his decision, he said, “If left unaddressed, Chinnathambi will become even more problematic than Vinayagan. He is unfazed by the presence of people.”

“As per the HC orders, all arrangements have been made to move him to Top Slip elephant camp. We wanted him to remain in our forests, but public anger is growing, forcing us to resort to such a move,” Chief Conservator of Forests V Ganesan, who is also the field director of Anamalai Tiger Reserve (ATR) said.  

“The jumbo has been shifted to a camp at Top Slip and he will be closely observed by a team of foresters, veterinarians and mahouts,” Ganesan added.

According to some media reports, Chinnathambi was spotted “frolicking in the backyard of the Amaravati Sugar Mills in Udumalaipet, Tirupur district”, having found his way down from the forests of the Anamalai Tiger Reserve. The report claimed that the elephant has been drinking the water from a pond from behind the sugar mill which contains effluents from the mill – one of the main waste materials that has been released into the pond is ethanol. This water caused the elephant to get high and bold, and he decided to settle down there permanently. While a senior official with the Forest Department said that continuously eating sugarcane may cause an addiction, there was no confirmation that Chinnathambi could be an ‘alcoholic’.

While a section of activists and Chinnathambi fans cry foul, wildlife film maker Alphonse Roy opines that the authorities have taken the correct decision considering various factors. “Human lives should also be respected, just one casualty from Chinnathambi will be a disaster to a family. People should avoid Anthropomorphism. Further Ajay Desai’s report has clarified why Chinnathambi had to be captured. The Kraal system practised in TN is not barbaric, it only tames the animal. Chinnathambi is going to be get new friends and certainly make bonds in the elephant camp,” Roy adds.

From music videos that have the pachyderm dancing to the tune of Thalaivar’s song to selfies with him in the background, and even a fan club – Chinnathambi Fans Association – the 25-year-old wild elephant has become a rage on the internet in just a few weeks.

The elephant was named Chinnathambi (younger brother) by the people of Thadagam village near Coimbatore, as the tusker that frequently entered the villages there became friendly with the humans, said a Forest Department official.

Acting on a complaint in mid-January that it was raiding the crops and wandering in the brick-kilns resulting in huge losses, the officials captured Chinnathambi with the help of two kumkis (tamed elephants) on January 25 and translocated it to Varagaliar near Topslip forest the next day.

But the efforts proved futile, as the elephant returned and ventured into human habitation again.

After it entered villages near Pollachi, Udumalpet and Amaravathi, earning the ire of the local public, State Forest Minister Dindigul C Sreenivasan announced last Saturday that it would be captured and trained.

But a section of the villagers and animal rights groups brought out posters with slogans “Save Chinnathambi” and pasted them all over Coimbatore district. This soon went viral on social media.

A week ago, an animal rights organisation urged the government to keep Chinnathambi in the forest itself, its natural home. This plea came days after the Madras High Court advised the authorities not to put the roaming jumbo to any discomfort.

Using the radio collar fixed on it, Chinnathambi has now been found wandering in Kannadipudur, Amaravathi and Udumalpet forest areas.

The All India Muslim League (AIML) has submitted a petition to the Coimbatore District Collector to spare the animal, stating that it apparently protected the Western Ghats from encroachers.

In its petition, AIML said the tusker should be brought back to Thadagam from where it was translocated to Varagaliyar.