NAGERCOIL: The elephant lovers in Kerala are agitated and disheartened at the same time. It all started after new images of the rogue elephant Arikomban appeared on social media pages. The once gigantic mammoth of a pachyderm has turned scrawny and emaciated with bones visible even from a faraway distance.

It was Tamil Nadu's additional chief secretary Supriya Sahu who shared an image of Arikomban on Twitter which erupted in frenzied discussions among elephant lovers. 'Is it the same Arikomban who sauntered the labyrinthine farms of Chinnakannal?' one user asked. According to the Kerala forest department, the difficulty to walk with a large wound in the trunk might have led to the elephant traveling less.

Arikomban is walking less these days. The food intake is also paltry. The radio collar fitted on the neck provides real-time location details to Periyar wildlife reserves officials.

Meanwhile, Supriya Sahu in the latest tweet said Arikomban is recouping well with the Mudanthurai wildlife and has been exploring the habitat with constant monitoring from forest staff.