- A male elephant named Rolex caused crop damage and loss of life in Tamil Nadu
- Rolex was anaesthetised and captured by forest officials on Oct 17 at 2 am
- Three trained kumkis helped load Rolex into a lorry for transport
A male wild elephant in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu was shifted to an elephant camp after it caused crop damage and loss of life. The elephant, identified as one 'Rolex', routinely came out of the forest in the Thondamuthur area of Coimbatore at night and feasted on the crops.
The forest officials had been monitoring Rolex's movements every night before taking action on Friday morning (Oct 17). Around 2 am, the forest officials anaesthetised Rolex and brought him under control, according to ANI.
Three kumkis (trained elephants), named Kapildev, Wasim, and Bomman, were also pressed into service to load Rolex into a lorry. In the video, the kumkis could be seen pushing Rolex into the vehicle as he hesitated to budge.
Notably, the Forest Department employs kumkis to stop or divert herds of wild elephants from damaging crops in villages. The kumkis are trained meticulously over the years and taught to recognise signals from their trainers, such as tapping the elephant's ear with a foot and patting its head.
After being lodged in the lorry, Rolex was taken through the city roads to the Varagaliyar Elephant Camp, where he will be looked after.
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'It's Home Has Been..'
As the video went viral, a section of social media users joked about the situation, while others pointed out that Rolex was forced to venture out as his habitat had been encroached upon by humans.
"Looks like someone has offered Rolex, a "lifetime settlement" bounty for damaging the crops!" said one user, while another added: "Because it's home which has been encroached by greedy humans.
A third commented: "Rolex knows people took over his ancestor's land and started farming. Now, he wants his land back."
In another viral video shared by Indian Forest Services (IFS) officer Parveen Kaswan on Wednesday (Oct 16), a baby elephant could be seen stuck roadside. As the calf struggled, the mother elephant and another elephant came to its rescue and managed to push it up the road, leading to emotional reactions from social media users.
