Rivaldo to be let back into forest after HC intervention

Observing that the number of elephants in captivity in the state appears to be much beyond what can be ignored, the Madras High Court on Friday held that any elephant that is captured for providing medical treatment should ultimately be let back into the wild and that the Forest Department should not hold it in permanent captivity.

The first bench comprising Chief Justice Sanjib Banerjee and Justice Senthilkumar Ramamoorthy made the observation while disposing of a plea which challenged the Forest Department’s move to capture a 40-year-old male tusker Rivaldo.

The petitioner had objected to Rivaldo’s capture stating that the elephant had self-healed the injury it had sustained a decade ago and it has acclimatised itself to it that no treatment is required. However, with the Forest Department concurring with the bench’s observation that Rivaldo would be returned to the forest after providing it with necessary treatment for the injury it had sustained in its trunk and eye, the petitioner withdrew his objection to capture Rivaldo.

The Chief Justice while disposing of the plea recorded the need to protect and preserve the elephant corridors which are the only routes that connect two forests. Also, expressing concern over human habitations along elephant corridors, the bench expressed hope that officials will not allow even an inch of forest to be encroached and also take effort to remove the existing encroachments.

The court also sought the government to consider putting up flyovers or building humps across the highways and roads that cut across elephant corridors to ensure free movement of elephants and other animals.

As per the plea, Rivaldo is a gentle elephant tolerant to human presence unlike other wild elephants. A decade ago, the elephant suffered an injury in the tip of its trunk. It led the elephant getting habituated to being fed with fruits, sugarcane and coconuts by the local residents, but till date it has not killed or injured anybody.