Youths provoke tusker Padayappa, Forest department registers case

Four youths caught provoking wild tusker in Chokkanad, Munnar, Kerala; Forest department registers case under Wildlife Protection Act.

The Forest department has registered a case against four youths after visuals of them provoking a wild tusker, locally called Padayappa, to take photos and videos of the tusker at Chokkanad, near Munnar, on Tuesday night went viral.

According to Forest department officials, a group of youths traveling in a vehicle provoked the animal around 11 p.m. on Tuesday at the Vattakkad division on Chokkanad estate under the Kanan Devan Hills Plantations (KDHP).

The video shows the tusker standing near the roadside and the youths trying to reach near the tusker in a vehicle to take close photos and videos. Plantation workers from nearby layams (cluster homes) who noticed the action of the youths directed them not to provoke the animal. Despite repeated intervention by the residents, the youths didn’t pay heed.

Munnar range officer Arun Maharaja said the Forest department had registered a case against the youths under the Wildlife Protection Act. “The youths are identified as Vattakkad residents. As per section 9 of the Wildlife Protection Act 1972, such provoking actions are a punishable offense,” said the official.

“We received the video on Wednesday morning and registered the case immediately. The Forest department already seized the vehicle. The accused are absconding,“ said Mr. Maharaja.

M.N. Jayachandran, district secretary of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA), said that several incidents of provoking the wild tusker were reported from Mubbar.

“Though the Forest department occasionally registered cases against the offenders, the chargesheets were not submitted in the court. Steps should be taken to punish the offenders,” said Mr. Jayachandran.