Coimbatore: Three Kumki elephants brought from the Anamalai Tiger Reserve (ATR) to Radio Collar Lone Tusker Baahubali in Mettupalayam was sent back on Wednesday.
The department official took the most decision after two of the three Kumkis, was brought to Mettupalayam more than a month ago, suffering a foot injury.
The project for Radio Collar Bahubali has been postponed until the post-season season.
The department has brought Kaleem, Venkatesh and Mariappan from ATR to Mettupalayam to the Radio Collar Baahubali, which has destroyed plants in the range of METTUPALAYAM-SIRUMUGAI forests.
“We decided on the Elephant Collar radio after receiving complaints from farmers.
Baahubali, who is accustomed to humans, does not respond to efforts to scare it,” said Officer Forest Sirumugai Senthil Kumar.
The decision for the radio elephant collar was taken to identify the route and timing out of the forest so that officials can send them back.
They also want to learn the distance of baubali moving inside and outside the forest and why not eat in the forest.
“For radio collaring, we need an elephant to come to a suitable place – a place on the plain – at 5 pm.
However, it came twice close to darkness and then avoided us at all,” Kumar said.
“Shower on-and-off increasingly inhibits plans.
Also, two of the three Kumkis became unhealthy.
They refused to lie down all the time in Mettupalayam and suffer a foot injury.” Venkatesh Durairaj District Forest officer said Kumkis needed time to recover.
“Working to repair the radio collar will continue in the right season, when Tusker comes to a suitable place,” he told toi.
“The area accepts rain.
The river and flow in the forest are filled with water from the Ooty region.
At present, Baahubali is in the Nellithurai Reserve forest area, which is a place that is not suitable to improve the collar,” he added.