INTERVIEW|Had Arikomban not been captured, he wouldnt have been alive today

Dr Arun Zachariah has dealt with the wild for 28 years, and continues to do so. Chief Forest Veterinary Officer with the Kerala forest department, he became a household name in the state after the widely-debated Arikomban translocation, and was involved with profiling about 190 wildlife conflicts. In a candid chat with TNIE, Dr Zachariah opens up about the wonderfully weird world of wild animals, why he believes feminism exists most among wild animals, and his close encounters with the wild. Excerpts: You have tranquilised numerous elephants and tigers. How do you perceive increasing human-animal conflicts and changes in their pattern? There were conflicts earlier, too. But society looked at them as a natural phenomenon, not as an issue. The conflicts, as perceived today, gained some momentum by the mid-80s. By 2009, the impact of human-tiger conflicts began to be felt in Wayanad. We have profiled around 190 conflicts. 99% of elephant conflicts are with bulls either tuskers or makhnas. Conflicts mostly occur due to habitat fragmentation. With changing times, there have also been changes in elephants. Now we see big groups of male elephants or adult bulls, who are otherwise loners. They come together only for conflict. This cooperative crop-raiding is part of a behavioural change. Human-wildlife conflict, hence, involves evolutionary and behavioural changes too. Are there any other noticeable aspects about these conflict bulls? Sadly, these conflict bulls wont cross 45 years of age. They will be killed electrocuted, shot with guns or arrows, poisoned, etc. Since 2008, I have conducted about 526 postmortems of wild elephants, including normal deaths. All conflict bulls die young because they interact negatively with humans. In general, how does an elephant herd operate? Among elephants, an actual unit comprises the mother elephant and her calves. Several such units together form a herd, which will have a lead matriarch, the most powerful female and the most experienced of the lot, who knows where to find resources. She will also breed more. Its her daughters, sisters, female relatives, and their calves that together form a herd. The female herd is inclusive. That is, if one female elephant is to deliver a baby, the other helps. If there is a tiger attack, all the elephants together protect the herd and the kids. Its always females who lead? Yes. Feminism exists most among elephants. Males fight among themselves to get female attention, and females select the best male. It would have majestic features, sexual characters such as long tusks. Pheromones help determine the quality of the male. There is nothing like a male-female bond, building a family together, etc. Once they mate, the female gets pregnant, and the male goes away. Is this pattern followed by all animals or just elephants? Sexual selection happens in three ways. In some species, like foxes, there is equal partnership. Both male and female rear the child, and if the female dies, there are cases where the male fox remains single to take care of the younger one. In some bird species, the female leaves after laying eggs, while the male bird incubates the egg, hatches it, and rears the young ones. Female selection is where the female selects the male for mating, and its her responsibility to rear the young ones. Can you shed more light on the conflict behaviour in animals? Some animals are ecologically conflict animals. They are called edge species like spotted deer, and to some extent elephants. They are found at the edge of the forests where human habitats and agricultural units can be found. Such areas are most fertile. With thick shrubs and herbivores, these areas have high animal activity. Earlier, there were multiple troops of monkeys in the forests, but now there are none. They have migrated to cities or agricultural areas and are adapting themselves. Urban monkeys have been living here for generations, and know how to steal, beg, and scavenge, but dont know how to pluck a leaf. Their food habits have drastically changed to such an extent that they have even started getting diabetes. They dont know how to live or survive in the wild. You mentioned that animals change their behaviour due to human-animal conflicts. What happens after that? What happens afterwards is a dynamic process. Evolution is a continuous process. Most bull elephants are habitual conflict animals in my experience. A recent research paper has found that though a bull elephants maximum lifespan is 75 years, it takes at least 50 years for it to become a mighty bull and have a child. However, a bull that gets into conflict at the age of 20-22, consumes nutritious and tasty food, and attains a 50-year-old bulls body in a span of 10 years. That gives them an easier chance at mating, but theyll die by the age of 40-45. This is called risk-taking behaviour. So, is it survival of the fittest? The usage of the phrase survival of the fittest often induces a wrong notion. It is not just the fittest. Altruism is rampant among species like elephants. When an elephant calf is born, the herd comes together to protect. Altruism at its peak is seen in ants, where individuals even lose sex, as part of altruism. Are animals aware that their risk-taking behaviour could cost them their lives? Yes. Risk-taking gives them a slight advantage, with increased chances of mating. Mating is the ultimate aim of all species. Such risk-taking is often genetic there are risk-taking genes. There is a misconception that all elephants are conflictive. Thats not true. The same conflict behaviour is passed on to the next generation if the trait gets selected. How do animals avoid inbreeding? Animals can recognise smells and pheromones for mating decisions. Humans can no longer do that. Humans have other cues from family life. But that specific gene was never selected in humans. Animals have many cues, like light, sound, infrasonic communication, and even magnetism. Birds migrate using magnetic nuclei in their brains. Elephants sense vibrations. Their senses extend well beyond the human five. If you saw the world in their wavelengths of light or heard what they hear, the world would be entirely different. You make humans sound like dumb beings... (Laughs out) No. Evolution perfects everything slowly. We only see a snapshot. Comparing snapshots misleads us. Dinosaurs were not dumb, though we may think so. It is a human perspective short-sighted. If you see evolution holistically, everything is different. Elephants today stand at a point of perfection for their evolutionary stage. They will evolve further, and things will change again. Is it not the lack of food in the forest that makes these elephants venture out? It can happen due to food, but habitual conflict animals seek conflict. There are many interesting observations. In 2014, I caught a bull among a group that would stand in the same place, right from early morning. It was active only in the wee hours. During the day, it slept soundly after night duty. It would leave at exactly 5 am, when the prayer call from the mosque was heard. We spoke to the mosque and they skipped the prayer call the next morning. The elephant stayed. We caught it that day. Do they have emotional bonding? Are the groups of male elephants like rowdy gangs? Yes, they have emotional bonding. Not a rowdy gang, but even rowdies have bonds, right? (laughs) This is survival behaviour. Conflict is a different level of survival. All this is part of evolution. We cannot say what is right or wrong we cannot judge everything only through a human perspective. There was an allegation that the forest department captured Arikomban and shifted him from his original habitat to turn him into a kumki elephant The decision to capture Arikomban was taken by the High Court. If Arikomban had remained where he was, he would not have been alive today he would likely have been poisoned. There are two distinct issues here: the difference between animal lovers and conservation. Welfare concerns individual welfare; conservation concerns an ecosystem. Welfare arises from personal emotion. Many conflicts arise because this distinction is not understood. Animal lovers look at Arikomban from a welfare perspective. I look at it from a conservation perspective. Your take on the psychology of Arikomban fans Ive got many abuses and threats from them. It could be their love for the animal. I look at their empathy for the animal in a positive manner. There were allegations that Arikomban was overdosed during tranquilisation. Elephants cannot be tranquilised like humans. In wildlife, we cannot use gas anaesthesia. We must use chemical immobilisation, meaning injectable drugs. But we cannot walk up to an elephant or tiger and inject it. We need equipment a darting gun. We use combinations of two or three drugs. In human surgery, we know all the vital parameters. But in the wild, I have no such data. I rely entirely on observation the animals movement patterns, my intuition, experience, and knowledge. If the animal is standing in a good landscape suitable for safe tranquilisation, I will use a knock-out dose. Munnar is a steep terrain. If I give a full dose, the elephant might fall and die, or fall into the dam and drown. I have only a 500-metre window where the elephant must be immobilised. If it goes beyond that, we cannot even load it into a truck. I start with small doses and guide the elephant down. I watch every reflex and adjust accordingly. Only years of experience make this possible. After darting, how long does it take for the tranquiliser to act? Many factors matter. Size, age, temperament, weight all these play a role. In hot weather, the dart acts faster. Some animals are extremely aggressive. Some elephants or tigers have pellet injuries; they have high adrenaline levels. These are considered during darting. We can chase the animal and dart it, or ambush-dart it. Tribal trackers help us a lot in this. They will use smell and noise to track elephants. They are experts and know how much time an elephant takes to reach a particular place. How does a tiger become a man-eater? Humans are not their natural prey. We dont know what exactly triggers such behaviour. But man-eaters are different - they stalk. Popular perception is that a tiger becomes a man-eater after it tastes human flesh or is injured. Being injured doesnt make it a habituated conflict animal. Even tigers that lift cattle do not become man-eaters or attack humans. There is an extreme version, too. Some tigers prey only on dogs or chickens. Some cant even kill cattle, as they do not have teeth. Thats a shame for the tiger (Laughs) Shouldnt it also survive? Do tigers in other categories turn into man-eaters? Never. A man-eater will continue to stalk humans. Another scenario is a chance encounter suddenly come face-to-face. Usually, a tiger, on seeing you, will growl and move away. At about 2025 metres, if you continue approaching, it will surely attack. If that happens and you run, you will die. In such a situation, spread your arms and legs wide and make yourself appear larger. By doing so, you make yourself big in front of the animal. For how long would a man-eater stalk a human? Its hard to say. Until it succeeds, it will keep stalking. Otherwise, there are cases where it attacks when people are in a vulnerable position, like when they squat in the open to defecate. You once had a miraculous escape from a tiger It was in 2016. The tiger had strayed into a coffee plantation. Thousands of people had gathered around the hillock armed with stones. We spotted the tiger. When I realised it was charging up, I asked the others to flee. The tiger, which was behind me, quickly landed in front of me. It leapt on me, and I shoved the tranquilising gun in its mouth. I kept asking the staff to shoot, as the tiger started roaring and attacking me. They did not fire. Then I blacked out. The staff came rushing and rescued me. It was a lucky escape. Since you spoke about stalking behaviour, how intelligent is the tiger? Does it have a plan, while hunting? We measure intelligence based on human parameters. IQ does not apply to a tiger. Its IQ is for finding its prey, planning a hunting strategy, and defending itself. So, it will succeed only at that level. Is there a distinct behavioural difference between male and female tigers in terms of hunting? Not in terms of hunting. Both are territorial, but body size differs. A few tigers may have a longer mane. There are differences between both in terms of aggressiveness. During the breeding season, their hormones spike for better chances of mating. But that also triggers conflict. It is during the breeding season, from November to January, that we see maximum infighting and injuries. Is there homosexuality among animals? In some monkeys, it has been reported and also among elephants housed in zoos. As a rule of thumb, however, I cant say that. In zoo settings, such cases have been noticed. There are stories about their vengeance, too... Im not sure about that. In a forest, elephant carcasses are usually left untouched. When a herd of elephants passes by, it suddenly becomes silent on seeing the carcass. The herd touches the bones, as if paying homage before moving on. Do they identify the relation? There is a behaviour change when they see the bones. There was a six-month-old elephant calf that got separated from the herd after being swept away by the floods. We raised it. But it was very sick and we gave it heavy doses of antibiotics. It survived. But whenever it sees me, it sits down knowing that I am the person who gives it the painful injection. I saw the elephant four to five years later at Kottur camp. When I called out its name, it sat down (laughs). But there are a lot of stories about an elephants vengeance... There will always be legends surrounding such a huge animal. They have memories, of course. Thats why it connects with its mahout. Memory is based on a cue. It can be visual, smell, or something else. When they live as a family, such awareness will of course be there. Is choondu marmam a reality? In Sri Lanka, a person said hed demonstrate it. The person was reportedly drunk. The elephant killed him in front of his family members. It is said that one should run in a zig-zag manner upon being chased by an elephant... Elephants have binocular vision. They get confused when one runs in a zig-zag fashion. There are two types of charging by elephants. One is a real charge and another is a mock charge. In a mock charge, it comes charging, making a lot of noise. The trunk is curled inward. We know its a mock charge. It comes to a screeching halt just five to ten metres from us. However, a real charge will be based on a real threat. The trunk will be extended outward, showing that it wants to grab and kill you. These are just observations. There are variations as well. Dont be foolish and try this out. I should not be held responsible for the consequences. (laughs) Its alleged that elephants are brutally tortured during the taming process... You can tame wild animals through two methods: negative and positive reinforcement. Negative reinforcement involves inflicting pain, fear, and insecurity on the animal, breaking its morale, and finally making it succumb. Its easy. But we believe in positive reinforcement. Our method has won applause across the globe. Its a long process of building bondage through positive actions vocal contact first, followed by touch, giving food, being in its proximity, and finally getting into its cage. You mentioned talking to the elephant. Does it respond to the sound or the language? Elephants can identify the tenor and tone of your voice. It can sense the words used their depth and comprehend the emotions. If you observe animal behaviour, you will see the changes in an animal when it tries to attack you. Depending on your attitude, response, and posture, itll change its behaviour. Even your smell could be crucial. Animals can also judge fear. If you are dominant, they will feel that they should be careful. TNIE team: Kiran Prakash, Cithara Paul, Anil S, Aparna Nair, Aswin Asok Kumar B P Deepu (photos) Harikrishna B (video)