Herds of female elephants trundling along the grassy patches with calves tailing behind make for a lovely sight. For residents and farmers of Munnar, it means trouble. Rowdy male elephants carrying adorable monikers with their occasional exploits of raiding ration shops and scaring away motorists are now being overshadowed by the threat posed by two herds of female elephants. They go by the name 'Ettukootam' and 'Aarukootam'.
One herd includes eight elephants accompanied by four calves while the other comprises four female elephants with two calves. The dreadful trait of these female elephants is that they always arrive in groups, stick together and trample all over the farms. These female elephants are unmoved even by the repeated firing of crackers.
301 Colony, Sigakandam, BL RAM, Panniar, Anayirangal, Thondimala, Chinnakanal, the areas lying in Udumbanchola, Devikulam taluks in Idukki district are the most susceptible spots to wild pachyderm attacks, mostly from female elephants.
When the farmers and residents heaved a sigh of relief after the major trouble maker Arikomban was translocated, the herds of female elephants have taken on the mantle wreaking damage in farmlands.
Deprived of food in forests, the female elephants move in groups and make their way to farms. Farmers said that the arrival of elephants in herds causes extensive damage to banana plantation. Ettukoottam has also taken a liking for cardamom plantation and they always leave behind a mess, adding to the woes of farmers.
Farmers said that even if they try to chase them away with crackers, the elephants do not move from the farm because they come as a 'gang'. The forest department officials said that Aarukootam is relatively a new gang, but they outdo each other in terms of damage.
During the recently held Lok Sabha elections, it had taken a co-ordinated action from Rapid Response Team and residents to ensure that voters from different colonies reached the polling booths without falling in the sight of Aarukootam.
Local residents, however, said that the Rapid Response Team had tried its best to reduce the trouble posed by the wild female elephants. RRT will keep informing about the location of elephants through WhatsApp groups. Before the advent of RRT, villagers spent heavily on firecrackers to drive away the elephants. Instead of the earlier Rs 30,000, now only Rs 5,000 is spent on firecrackers in a month, villagers said.
Around 18 elephants, including calves, are frequently spotted in 301 Colony and Singakandam. RRT often reaches these areas within five minutes of receiving alert from local residents. The loner elephants continue to spread fear among the residents -- be it Chakkakomban or Padayappa who has long shed its people friendly image and gone rogue.
After 'Arikomban' left the scene, the ration shop No. 16, owned by Anthony, was demolished by Chakkakomban and rice was taken away. Anthony also said Chakkakomban was seen roaming around the premises of the ration shop last week as well. When sugarcane and fodder in the forest are reduced, they go to the area and break the ration shop and eat rice and other foodgrains.
There is another wild elephant, so far considered the gentlest of all -- 'Murivalan' -- also known as 'Mottavalan' due to short tail. The elephant's favourite food is grass. When it runs out of tender grass, it occasionally strays into cardamom plantation and causes damage. Two days ago, the gate of LP school, Keezhanthoor, was demolished by a wild elephant frequently spotted on Marayur-Kanthaloor road. Another herd of elephants even entered the premises of a convent in Perumala.
