KOCHI: Neelakantan , the 22-year-old elephant of Abhayaranyam elephant training and rescue centre at Kodanad , will be shifted to Muthanga wildlife sanctuary on Monday amid protest by residents.Neelakantan, who came to Kodanand when he was six months, will be trained as a ‘kumki’ elephant (captive elephants trained to tame wild ones). But for people living near Kodanand, the elephant is a part of their lives.Many fear that without Neelakantan, one of the healthiest and best-looking elephant in the centre, the tourist attraction would come down.“Neelakantan is the only reason why tourists pay the entry fee willingly,” said M S Sukumaran, coordinator of the Janakeeya Samithi.Now, residents have started protest against the decision to shift Neelakantan.“He was raised amongst us. It is not easy to see him being transferred,” said Sujith K S, a resident of Kodanad and an animal lover.“Elephants are subjected to torture during ‘kumki’ training. They suffer severe injuries both externally and internally. Kerala has not had a proper ‘kumki’ elephant for the past 45 years,” said V K Venkitachalam, secretary of Heritage Animal Task Force “Currently, we don’t have a ‘kumki’ elephant. Usually, we seek help from Karnataka and Tamil Nadu for trained elephants,” said Anisha Siddhik, range forest officer.Siddhik said that she understood the sentiments of residents but stressed on the need for a ‘kumki’ elephant.

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