TN's pride Kumki elephant Kaleem involved in 99 rescue operations retires at 60

Kaleem, the 60-year-old superstar kumki of Tamil Nadu, who helped in capturing several wild elephants that posed a threat, retired on Tuesday. The 'gentle giant' has been an obedient, intelligent, friendly and a leader among kumkis. It was involved in nearly 99 rescue operations.

Supriya Sahu, who is the additional chief secretary for the state environment department, shared an emotional post about the majestic animal.

"Our eyes are wet and hearts are full of gratitude as Kaleem the iconic Kumki elephant of the Kozhiamuttthi elephant camp in Tamil Nadu retired today at the age of 60. Involved in 99 rescue operations he is a legend," Supriya Sahu tweeted, along with a video of the guard of honour ceremony for Kaleem.

Sharing photos from the ceremony, she said that for Mahout (elephant handler) Mani, Kaleem is like his elder brother. "It was my honour to witness the retirement ceremony, I will remember & cherish forever," she wrote.

Kumki elephants is a term used in India for trained captive Asian elephants used in operations to trap wild elephants, sometimes to rescue or to provide medical treatment to an injured or trapped wild elephant. The word 'Kumki' comes from the Persian word kumak, which means 'aid,' and is widely used by Mahouts.

In January, a petition was filed in the Kerala High Court challenging the capture of two wild elephants which had forayed into inhabited areas in the Palakkad and Wayanad districts of the state.

In the petition moved by Angels Nair, general secretary of NGO Animal Legal Force Integration, he has alleged that the capture and subsequent training being provided to the two tuskers was "illegal", as the elephants were tranquilised and caught from inside the forest, and has sought an investigation by CBI or any other agency into the same.

Nair, in his plea, has contended that the two captured tuskers are being illegally trained to become 'kumki' elephants which are captive pachyderms used in operations for trapping and capturing other elephants.

He has claimed that elephant training in India was banned and the Kerala government order of 2018 permitting training of 'kumki' elephants was illegal.

"The state government has no administrative power for grant permission for any purpose under the Wildlife Protection Act. Such powers for the state government had been omitted by an amendment in 1982," his petition claims.

Therefore, not only training, use of 'kumki' elephants is also illegal, the petition claims.

Nair has also alleged that the training measures are cruel as water and food are denied to the elephant to tame it.

The use of kumki elephants is a traditional practice in India that has been adapted to modern conservation efforts. It is seen as a more humane and effective way of dealing with human-elephant conflicts compared to more aggressive methods such as culling or relocation.