No signal from Arikomban’s radio collar, tusker likely to return, says expert panel member

IDUKKI: The forest department is not getting signals from the radio collar attached to the neck of Arikomban caught from Chinnakanal and released in Periyar. The signal last received was at 2 pm yesterday.

Arikomban was last seen at Vannathipara area of Tamil Nadu. The forest department explained that the signal is not received due to a technical glitch. After the signals from the radio collar reach the satellite, it will reach the forest department's portal from here. The forest department said that even if the weather is cloudy and if the elephant is in a dense forest, the signal will not be received. The forest department said they will ask the World-Wide Fund for Nature to resolve the technical issue. It was this organization that provided the radio collar for Arikomban. The life of the battery is up to ten years.

Meantime, it is reported that Arikomban has travelled up to 12 km from the place it was released. The high court expert panel member Dr P S Isa said the possibility of Arikomban returning to Chinnakanal cannot be ruled out. Some of the translocated elephants have returned. He said the best place for Arikomban was Parambikulam rather than Periyar.