Expert team to study health of four temple elephants

Complaints of poor upkeep, improper maintenance and ill-treatment

An expert team constituted by the Forest Department to go into alleged ill-treatment and poor maintenance of four temple elephants, including the pachyderm at Thayumanaswamy Temple in Tiruchi, is all set to begin its task.

Abayambikai of Mayuranathar Temple at Thiruvavaduthurai in Mayiladuthurai district, Subbu alias Subbulakshmi of Shanmuganathan Temple at Kundrakudi in Sivaganga district, Varalakshmi alias Lakshmi of Thayumanaswamy Temple in Tiruchi and Prerona alias Deivanai of Subramanya Swamy temple in Thiruparankundram are to be screened by the team.

The expert team led by N.V.K. Ashraf, Wildlife Trust of India, New Delhi, consists of Kalaivanan, veterinarian, Theni; A. Sukumar, Forest Veterinary Officer, Coimbatore; Ramesh Amala Srinivasan, captive elephant rehabilitator; Sivaganesan, Wildlife and Environment Trust, Mayiladuthurai; K. Kalidasan, president, OSAI Environmental Organisation; Balaji Sheshan, Anti Wildlife Crime Expert; and Antony Clement Rubin, Namalwarpet, Chennai, as members.

Shekhar Kumar Niraj, Principal Chief Conservator of Forest and Chief Wildlife Warden, constituted the team based on complaints of poor upkeep, improper maintenance and ill-treatment of the captive elephants as per the Tamil Nadu Captive Elephants (Management and Maintenance) Act, 2011, official sources said.

A senior forest official told The Hindu that the team would visit Abayambikai in Mayiladuthurai on Monday morning and study the temple elephant of Sri Thayumanaswamy Temple in Tiruchi later in the day. The expert members would inspect the temple elephant of Shanmuganathan Temple in Kundrakudi and Subramanya Swamy Temple in Thiruparankundram on Tuesday.

Besides studying the health aspects of the elephants, the team would focus on their upkeep and maintenance. The behaviour of the captive animals would also be under the scrutiny of the team members.

After studying various aspects of the elephant, the team would submit its findings and recommendations to the Chief Wildlife Warden. He would take a decision on whether to send the elephants to the Elephants Rescue and Rehabilitation Centre at M.R. Palayam in Tiruchi district.

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