Kerala Forest Department in association with the Forest Departments of Tamil nadu and Karnataka has started anti- poaching patrol among Muthanga Wild life Sanctuary of Kerala-Tamil nadu border according to the information from the Thamil Nadu authorities about  poaching in this area.   The team consists of 3 elephants their mahouts,  anti-poaching staff  and forest officials. The elephants belong to the Forest Department of Kerala.   Sanctuaries adjacent to the Muthanga are Muthumalai and Bandipur.  This type of patrolling is the first one of its kind in Kerala.  According to them elephant patrolling has many advantages.

• They can travel through thick forests where vehicles can not reah
• Elephant riding provides better surveillance
• Protection from wild animals

They spend three days at a stretch which gave a close look of the activities inside the forest area.  They had given intensive training for this patrolling through the thick forests.