An elephant named Murthy was captured in 1998
Two Kumki elephants were retired in a grand farewell ceremony at Mudumalai Tiger Reserve in Tamil Nadu.
Coimbatore,Two Kumki elephants were retired in a grand farewell ceremony at the Mudumalai Tiger Reserve in Tamil Nadu. Both the elephants of SE’s Theppakadu Elephant Camp were given an official farewell and shawls were presented by the forest department officials. The companion Kumki elephants of these two stood in a line on either side, playing trumpets.
Various kinds of fruits were also arranged for both the elephants on this special occasion. These two elephants named Murthy and Mudumalai were working in the forest department for many years. Both the elephants are more than 58 years old and in the past they were used to drive away wild elephants misbehaving with humans or to capture elephants.
Now after retirement he will spend the rest of his life near the elephant camp. An elephant named Murthy was captured by the forest department in 1998, when it was accused of killing more than 20 people in Kerala, prompting the government to issue an order allowing its killing.
As such, after reaching the camp the idol became submissive and was used by the forest department to capture other wild elephants. On the other hand, Mudumalai, when he was three years old, was caught after falling into a pit.
The idol and Mudumalai were decorated in the farewell party. Other Kumki elephants in the camp stood in a row on either side and blew their trumpets to give a grand farewell to their comrades. Tribal artists played traditional music on this occasion. Then SE’s Field Director D Venkatesh presented shawls to the retiring elephants. He also gave certificates to his Mahawat.
Along with this, the idol and Mudumalai were decorated with caprison. According to forest department officials, the idol elephant is a rare species. In the camp he was gradually trained as a kumki elephant and after a while he came to be known as one of the most docile and obedient elephants here. On the other hand, the Madumalai elephant was named Madumalai after the Mudumalai Tiger Reserve.