‘Chillikomban’, a majestic wild elephant that largely roamed around Kerala’s Nelliampathi hills as its home range, died after being washed away in strong currents in the contour canal of the Parambikulam Aliyar Project (PAP) in Coimbatore district on Saturday (May 23, 2026).

The tusker got trapped in the PAP contour canal in Pachathannir forest beat, under the Sethumadai east section of the Pollachi forest range in the Anamalai Tiger Reserve (ATR), around 4 p.m. on Saturday, reportedly while attempting to drink water. Field staff of the Forest Department rushed to the spot and found the tusker struggling to breathe after getting trapped in the canal, which is of about 20 feet deep, and due to strong currents.

The Deputy Director of ATR, the Executive Engineer and Sub-Divisional Officer of the contour canal division of the Public Works Department’s Water Resources Department were informed.

Though efforts were made to rescue the elephant using a backhoe, the elephant could not be lifted due to its weight and the current in the canal. The elephant was found dead inside the canal around 6.40 p.m. The carcass could not be retrieved immediately as the current was high at that time.

Since the 49.3 km canal with a few tunnels empties into Thirumoorthy Dam, authorities decided to retrieve the carcass as it gets carried into the reservoir. The Udumalpet Forest Range Officer and staff were alerted about the incident and they recovered the carcass from the dam on Sunday (May 24).

“Chillikomban was known as a docile tusker that lived amongst people in the Nelliampathi region, without causing trouble. The tusker would traverse to the Tamil Nadu side during musth and return to the home turf. I have had the opportunity to observe the tusker in close proximity several times and I am saddened by its death,” said Sandeep Das, a biologist from Kerala.

According to Sukesh Kumar, a Watcher with the Kerala Forest Department at Nelliampathi, ‘Chillikomban’ had in fact been named by Tamil people as ‘Sullikomban’ (elephant with slender tusks). The nickname eventually became Chillikomban in Kerala, he said.

No history of attacking humans

“There are no known reports of the elephant having attacked people in Nelliampathi area. It loved jackfruit and mangoes. The tusker used to spend the musth period on Tamil Nadu side between December and May. But, it moved to Tamil Nadu side in November last year and returned in April. The tusker went back again unusually and that was his last journey,” he said.

Another wild elephant died of getting trapped in the contour canal in February this year.

A team from the WWF India studied the impact of the open stretches of the contour canal earlier and submitted its report to the Forest Department earlier this year, recommending construction of safety ramps, especially at the entry points of seven tunnels and other measures to reduce wildlife mortality.

“A second elephant death this year highlights the need to implement safety measures at the earliest,” said D. Boominathan, Deputy Team Leader (WGNL) WWF-India.