@the_hindu

On August 2, 2021, the wild elephant, Rivaldo, who had been in captivity for around three months in the buffer zone of the Mudumalai Tiger Reserve in Tamil Nadu, was freed. On the day he was released, Rivaldo, walked over 28 km overnight to return to his home in the Sigur forest range in MTR. Local residents claimed that his return was a “failure” of the Forest Department’s efforts to rehabilitate him. However, recent images show Rivaldo feeding and bonding with other elephants in the area. These bonds with other elephants could explain his insistence on returning to the Sigur range. Rivaldo also wears a collar from Germany to enable the Forest Department to monitor his movement. The collar has GPS and VHF transmitters inbuilt, with a three-year collar life battery backup. 📸 Sathyamoorthy M. & Special Arrangement

August 20, 2021