Jumbo carcass riddle

The carcass of an adult male wild elephant, with its tusks, trunk and tail chopped off and chunks of meat hacked off from the body, was found at Dolopa village, 37km from Assam's Sivasagar town, on Saturday.

Residents who found the carcass in the wee hours said the elephant could have been poisoned as it appeared to be healthy. They said the tusks, trunk and tail were missing and chunks of meat had been carved out of the body with a sharp weapon.

They, however, refused to speculate whether the animal was killed for alleged meat consumption though they admitted that some locals do consume elephant meat.

They said the elephant had strayed from its herd and was seen wandering in the area on Friday.

Forest officials rushed to the spot and collected samples from the carcass for investigation. They later buried the carcass in the adjoining field.

Divisional forest officer of Sivasagar forest division Bidya Bordoloi said they conducted post-mortem at the site but did not find any trace of poison. They have sent samples to the forensic lab and are expecting the report next week.

Bordoloi said the death was "mysterious", ruling out electrocution as well. Asked the reason for the animal's death, he said nothing could be said till they receive the forensic report.

Residents said elephants, revered as a religious and cultural icon in India, are regarded as enemies in the area as they regularly stomp into the villages, damage paddy fields and demolish houses. "Several incidents of attack on villagers have been reported too," a villager said. Because of the man-elephant conflict, locals at times take extreme measures such as poisoning jumbos, he added.

The area is frequented by wild elephants and several incidents of man-elephant conflict have been reported from there in the recent past. Several elephant carcasses have been recovered without the trunk or tail.

Though, elephants are hounded and killed when they wander into human settlements, damage crops and houses, they are also killed for ivory.

India has nearly 30,000 elephants in its forests and reserves and the animal enjoys the highest Schedule 1 species status under the Wildlife Protection Act 1972. It is also declared endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

Elephant meat is considered a delicacy in some Southeast Asian countries like Thailand and Vietnam and in African nations like Cameroon and Congo.

The Indian elephant is native to India, Nepal, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Myanmar, Thailand, Malay Peninsula, Laos, China, Cambodia and Vietnam.

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