Protest against release of PM2 into forest

KALPETTA: Widespread protest against the move of the forest department to release the tuskless male elephant Pandalur makhna-2 that was terrorizing the Pandalur taluk of Nilgiris district of Tamil Nadu and Sultan Bathery taluk of Wayanad district, back into the forest.

The wild elephant was caught by the Forest Department in January and put in the Muthanga Anapanti. He had killed two people in Tamil Nadu and destroyed around 100 houses in the Pandalur region. He was caught through tranquilization after he attacked a pedestrian in Sultan Bathery. Steps to make him a Kumki elephant was being followed. Citing the court verdict against the capture of the Arikomban in Idukki, some animal lovers have demanded that PM2 be released into the wild.

A five-member committee was appointed by the forest department to take the decision. Not even a single people representative was included in the committee. After getting trained for three months, if the elephant is released into the wild, it will return to the inhabited area. Encounters with other elephants in the wild are also likely and it may lead to loss of life. The Chief Wildlife Warden's directive to submit a report on the release within a week has led to farmers' protests. The farmers' organizations and people's representatives have stated that they will face it legally.

Will tigers be released as well?

KALPETTA: The people are afraid that the five tigers living in the animal center at Kuppadi will be released into the forest. The tiger that killed a farmer names Thomas is also in this group. These tigers survived by hunting domestic animals. If they are left back into the forest, they might return to the inhabited area more dangerously.

An animal lover has filed a petition in the High Court demanding that the tigers be released. The state's first animal palliative center was started at Kuppadi to house four animals. The animal lover's petition in the court comes as the Forest Department is proceeding with the process of allocating special funds for the development of the Animal House Space Centre.