There is a wild tusker called Kallur Komban in Wayanad, who needs our help. He is in captivity, after being captured by the Kerala State forest department in November, 2016. Blamed for being a problem elephant, and straying into villages.

But, he is very much a victim, of a conflict not of his making. A conflict started by humans, when they encroached the forests in which his kind has roamed freely for thousands of years. Humans suffer, but the elephants, and other animals, are the big losers. Like this tusker, who will lose his freedom, forever.

Currently Kallur Komban is languishing in a  small wooden cage stationed at the Muthanga elephant camp in Wayanad, Kerala, S. India. He is terrified and under severe stress from the trauma of capture, transport, and being confined in a small space.  The stress from being alone in a new place, human proximity, change of diet, inability to carry out his natural behaviours  etc. can even make him collapse.

Compared to other countries, India is still conservative and complacent about its policies and attitudes to wildlife conservation. Conservation decisions are often made on the basis of what is socially and politically ‘safe’, ‘normal’ or ‘acceptable’. Expediency and convention override science, ethics and animal rights. We hope that the Government of Kerala will not abandon what is right in the name of convenience. 

Kallur Komban must be allowed to live a natural life. And not enslaved for the rest of his life. He needs us to raise our voices in unison, and call for him to be set free.