A tusker and cow elephant found shot in Silent Valley

The discovery of two wild elephant carcasses in the buffer zone of the Silent Valley National Park in February has put wildlife wardens on their toes.

The killings have also spotlighted the threat posed by poachers who hunt wild elephants to harvest tusks and the powerful inter-State mafia that profits from the sale of ivory artefacts to wealthy collectors.

Forest Range Officer, Silent Valley, Najmal Ameen, said the carcasses were found on February 27, an estimated 400 m from each other. One was that of a tusker and the other a cow elephant. He said the animals had died of gunshot wounds and the poachers had hewn off their tusks. Wildlife enforcers have arrested two persons and recovered a country made musket from the suspects. However, they were yet to retrieve the tusks. Wildlife wardens also found the carcass of a bull elephant in the periphery of the Mannarkkad Forest Division. Sunil Kumar, Divisional Forest Officer, said the kill appeared to be the handiwork of persons farming land on the fringes of the forest.

They could have shot or poisoned the elephant. Forensic veterinarians could not identify the cause of death because the body had decomposed badly. The tusks were seen pulled out and not chopped off as poachers tend to do, he said.

Chief Wildlife Warden, Surendra Kumar, told The Hindu that the evidence collected so far did not indicate an organised effort to poach elephants for their ivory as witnessed in Malayattoor, Vazhachal and Munnar forest divisions in 2014-15. (The killings of an estimated 18 bull elephants had resulted in an asymmetrical sex ratio in specific herds). Mr. Kumar said wildlife enforcers were not taking any chances. They have stepped up surveillance and wardens were increasingly relying on technology, including hidden night vision cameras and aerial drones, to tack poachers.

Wildlife investigators said they had identified at least 20 forest localities in Kerala, which they said were vulnerable to elephant poaching. They said they had responded to the threat by identifying, trapping and naming prominent herds and counting the wild elephants in their home range with particular emphasis on photographing and documenting the bulls.

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