In a moving tale of man-animal relationship, elephant Chinna Thambi has captured the heart of Tamil Nadu people even as politics and other issues have taken a back seat for the time being.

The Madras High Court on Monday heard a petition by animal lover Arun Prasanna challenging the move by the AIADMK Government to catch and train the wild tusker as a Kumki saying that the Government’s act violates animal’s rights. Kumki is a term used for an elephant specialised in controlling errant elephants.

However, the Tamil Nadu Government told the court that it is not for training Chinna as a Kumki. “Our first preference is to help him reach his original dwelling place and a group of forest officials are into the job,” the Government informed the court.

N Sadique Ali, a wildlife conservationist in Ootty, said that Chinna Thambi is the latest example of human-animal conflict in the region. “The elephant is a peace-loving animal and there are no instances of him attacking anybody in Thadgam. The truth is that Chinna Thambi enjoys eating carrot, sugarcane and banana which are in abundance here. All these crops are cultivated in the encroached areas of the forest and we cannot blame the elephants for eating them,” said Ali.

Even as the arguments and counter-arguments were exchanged in the court, the elephant and the cavalcade of officials are on their way to Thadagam valley in Coimbatore district, the domain of Chinna Thambi. One of the forest officials told The Pioneer that a group of TV crew with satellite news gathering vehicles were also keeping track of the ‘new star’ of Tamil Nadu.

Meanwhile the walkathon by Chinna Thambi continues with the routine stopovers. “Whenever he is thirsty, he stops at the nearby watering holes, quenches his thirst, takes rest and continues his journey in search of the comfort zone,” said Ali.

The forest watchers and guards accompanying him ensure that the pachyderm is kept out of human habitation.