Venkateshwaran, a young divisional forest officer from Chalakudy in Thrissur, and his men have been at work since early morning at Chikalayi in the Athirappilly forest on a rainy day in the second week of June. An elephant observer’s warning call on the presence of a herd of wild elephants near the human settlement of Kumbidamudi, a fragmented forest area in the Athirappilly rainforest, which is part of the Western Ghats, prompted team members to take action. The two drone pilots immediately launched their remotely operated aircraft systems to locate the animals’ exact location. Relying on inputs from the drone, a group of animal trackers headed towards the area where the elephants were seen.
The team painstakingly made their way through the forest as golden rays of the morning sun filtered through the dense canopy of the rainforest. The lush green forest had become darker during the monsoon rains. The atmosphere was filled with the chirping of crickets. Traversing the wooded path was a risky task as parts of the path had become muddy from overnight rain. Overgrown weeds and bushes obstruct movement. The risk was hidden in the form of wild elephants who could establish themselves behind tall and dense patches of vegetation.
Drone video shows elephants in Chalakudy. Video Credit: Special Arrangement
The sound of crunching leaves or breaking of tree branches immediately alerted the team as one wrong move could be fatal. Some members of the team kept their pump-action guns ready. The pellets fired from the gun can cause severe pain but will not injure the animal. Pain serves as an effective deterrent when handling wild animals, he says. The trackers carried locally made bazookas, a long metal pipe and pistol grips for bursting crackers. Once ignited, the gun will release firecrackers up to a distance of 50 meters before exploding, scaring away wild animals. A team member tightened his grip on the handle of his long knife. “Ideally, animals should be driven out of human habitations during the day when there is adequate light. The operation becomes more dangerous at night and in forested areas. Still, we carry out such operations,” said range forest officer Jobin Joseph, who is currently involved in the operation.
Officials said they risk their lives by participating in such operations. “Recently during an operation, an elephant attacked us. The risk increases manifold in forest areas at night and during rains, when the terrain becomes slippery. We have to deal with an animal that can move faster than us,” Jobin said. As night fell on the Kumbidamudi hills, teams of officials began “harassing” the wild elephants in an effort to drive them safely out of human habitations. Someone shined a powerful light across the holding to locate the animal.
The officers stood in a group, keeping the path open for the animal to exit. The animal was pushed out of human habitation by about 12 km. Suddenly, Jumbo moved in the other direction, spoiling the officials’ plan. Anticipating trouble, the team leader placed his index finger on the trigger of his 212 rifle as the team members resumed their efforts.
Members of the elephant monitoring team are keeping a close watch on the movement of an elephant that has come near a human settlement. | Photo Courtesy: Tulsi Kakkat
It was another day of work, tiring and dangerous, for the elephant stalkers of Athirappilly. Venkateshwaran explains, “The team members, who are engaged in the risky task of driving away wild elephants, have faced death on several occasions. Once, I saw death in the form of a herd of angry elephants standing barely 10 meters away from me and froze for a moment. When the team members shouted loudly and fired bazookas, the animals retreated.”
On May 30, 2026, Mohanan, 63, a dairy farmer from Vyssery in Athirappilly, was killed in an encounter with a wild elephant. Early in the morning a lone elephant, which had entered his hold, trampled him as he tried to scare it away with a freshly lit torch. The animal hiding behind the darkness killed him in one fell swoop. Mohanan’s son Adarsh said, “The elephant had attacked two other people a few days ago. It was first seen in the area a fortnight ago.”
Following Mohanan’s death, which shocked residents of the popular tourist destination, the forest department had launched its operation on June 2 to secure human settlements by driving away unruly elephants. Specially trained teams, including members of local communities as well as tribal people who know the area, have since been patrolling the forest to spot the animals.
Signage alerting travelers about animal crossing points and the possible presence of wild animals can be seen on the Athirappilly-Vazhachal road leading to Sholayar.
Field operations to eradicate elephants begin with data collection.
Drone visuals show elephants in Chalakudy. Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
“The drones keep an eye on the movements of the elephants while others patrol the forests during the day. The animal trackers will be fed with the inputs sent from the drones. Special teams will start harassing the animals and taking them out of their custody using various techniques. The plan is to push the animals back into the Athirappilly forest across the Chalakudy river through select exit points,” said Deputy Conservator of Forests KK Sunilkumar, who heads the elephant chasers. The head of the expert team said.
“The movements of the animals are monitored 24/7. Two watch towers are being set up inside the forest. The action plan for a given day is finalized around 7 am after analyzing the data on the animals. A 100-member strong team is involved in the operation,” said Sunilkumar, who looked sleepy and tired after the nearly 13-hour long operation, which ended around 4 pm.
unique names
Animal trackers, as well as residents, are familiar with the physical characteristics and behavioral patterns of the elephants that visit the area. The residents have also given each animal a unique name.
There is a large hole in Ottakathan’s wide ear flap, probably a remnant of a fight with another man from his tribe. Punyaalan (saint) regularly visited the church premises at Vettilappara in the evening. Tracking team member TA Preethikumar listed the names of the elephants they regularly encounter during their monitoring.
“Some elephants like Pottan Aana (deaf elephant) cannot be scared easily as they ignore the sound of firecrackers,” Preetikumar said. On any given day, trackers walk about six kilometers in search of animals. “I am not afraid of elephants because I encounter them regularly,” said Rathish, another animal tracker, while taking a short lunch break after covering a distance of about four kilometres.
Another tracker demonstrated the functioning of the bazooka by lighting a firecracker with his cigarette lighter. The loud sound of firecrackers, which echoed in Pillapara, a part of the Western Ghats mountain range that runs through the area, was followed by a trail of thick smoke.
“The large-scale change in land use patterns of the region has increased the incidence of human-wildlife conflict in the region,” says IS Suresh Babu, divisional forest officer, Vazhachal. Suresh says, “The extensive cultivation of pineapple and palm oil and the year-round availability of water in the Chalakudy River are attracting elephants. At present, there is a population of about 15 elephants in the area.”
Some elephant corridors, which have been used by generations of wild elephants, were disrupted by solar fences drawn in the area, forcing the animals to seek alternative routes to access fodder and water sources. Some of their new shipping routes pass through human settlements, Suresh said, thus opening new fronts of conflict with humans.
Wild elephants have to be harassed and driven out of human habitations for the safety of human life and property. As elephants are driven out of farms, elephant hunters also spend their nights awake and stressed.
