In a significant development, ‘Rivaldo’, a wild tusker that had been under captive treatment at a camp in the Mudumalai Tiger Reserve, has been released into the jungle during the wee hours of Monday. Nearly three months ago, the Tamil Nadu Forest Department had captured the elephant, as it kept venturing into human habitations in search of food. It was suspected that the elephant had an injury, which prevented it from feeding in the wild.
Mudumalai Tiger Reserve, located in the ecologically sensitive Nilgiris district in Tamil Nadu, is at the tri-junction of Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Karnataka. It is home to a wide variety of flora and fauna. Animals such as tigers, leopards, elephants, Indian Gaur (bison), sloth bears are often sighted at the Reserve.
On being captured, Rivaldo was put into a ‘kraal’ (a wooden log enclosure specially made for treating elephants). Generally, elephants that are put into a kraal are trained and domesticated for use as semi-wild…