Kalpetta: At a time when the human-wildlife conflict has reached alarming proportions across Kerala’s forest regions, a small village on the fringes of the Wayanad forests offered a strikingly different story on Thursday.

The residents of Chekadi, a forest-fringe village near Pulpally, came together to mourn the death of Lakshmi, a wild elephant that had become an unlikely member of their community.

An aged female elephant believed to be around 70 years old, Lakshmi died of age-related ailments in the early hours of Thursday. Her carcass was later found in the Pathiri forest zone, bringing to an end an extraordinary relationship between a wild elephant and a village that had embraced her with affection rather than fear.

Nestled amidst dense forests on three sides and bordered by the Kabani River on the other, Chekadi is a predominantly tribal village renowned for cultivating rare indigenous aromatic rice varieties. In a region where encounters between humans and elephants often end in crop destruction, injuries or death, Lakshmi stood apart.

Friendly elephant that never damaged crops
For nearly a month, the majestic elephant had become a familiar sight around the village. She wandered leisurely along the forest edge, frequently visiting tribal settlements and the outskirts of human habitations. Yet, unlike most wild elephants, she never ventured into farmlands or damaged crops.

“She was gentle and harmless. She would roam around the village but never entered the fields or destroyed cultivation,” recalled Ajayan Chekadi, a resident.

According to villagers, Lakshmi spent much of her time near the Chandroth tribal settlement, where jackfruit trees were abundant. Jackfruit, one of her favourite foods, was available in plenty, making the area her preferred resting place.

Every morning, she would emerge from the forest and spend hours near the village boundary before quietly retreating to the woods by evening. Even after returning to the forest during the day, she would often reappear whenever she heard human voices, almost as if responding to familiar company.

A village celebrity  
Over time, Lakshmi became something of a local celebrity. Wildlife enthusiasts, vloggers and photographers flocked to Chekadi to capture videos and photographs of the unusually calm elephant. Unlike most wild elephants, she allowed people to observe her from a safe distance without displaying aggression, making her one of the most photographed elephants in the region.

Women and children, who gradually overcame their fear, often greeted her with jackfruit, mangoes and other fruits from across the protective elephant trench separating the village from the forest. Villagers say Lakshmi would patiently accept whatever was offered and would even walk towards them when they affectionately called out her name.

“She seemed to recognise the people here. If someone called ‘Lakshmi’, she would slowly walk towards the trench. She was especially fond of children,” said another resident.

Her calm demeanour and predictable routine made her an integral part of village life. 

The quiet end
Lakshmi’s carcass was discovered in the Pathiri forest on Thursday morning. Villagers recalled that she had appeared unusually tired and weak when they last saw her a day earlier. Officials of the Wayanad Wildlife Sanctuary confirmed that the elephant died of natural causes.

Assistant Conservator of Forests Ajit K. Raman told Onmanorama that the postmortem indicated death due to old age and associated health complications.

“The elephant was extremely old. She may also have been suffering from age-related illnesses in recent days,” he said.

Forest officials estimate that Lakshmi was about 70 years old. Experts believe that her advanced age may also explain why she restricted her movements to the Chekadi landscape, where water, fodder and fruit-bearing trees were available in abundance, reducing the need to undertake long migrations in search of food.

Following the postmortem on Thursday evening, forest officials decided to bury the carcass in the forest itself in accordance with wildlife management protocols. There was a beeline of tribal villagers to have a last glimpse of their beloved elephant friend to the spot since morning.

For many residents, Lakshmi’s death revived memories of another beloved elephant, Maniyan, which once stood by the roadside near Irulam on the Pulpally–Sulthan Bathery highway. Maniyan had become a familiar attraction for travellers, who regularly bought bunches of bananas from local vendors to feed the elephant and stop for photographs. The gentle tusker was killed in 2019 during a fight with another wild elephant.