Wardens on their toes after elephant killings

G Anand, Thiruvananthapuram
The Hindu, March 18, 2019

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 metre from each other. One was that of a tusker and the other of a cow elephant.
Gunshot wounds
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.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.
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).
Surveillance stepped up
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.