Forest department orders probe into mysterious death of Annamalai Reserve elephant

With the wildlife crime against Elephants on the rise in South India, particularly along with the Nilgiris biosphere, the Tamil Nadu forest department has planned to profile the death of every mysterious deaths of pachyderms. Subsequently, the foresters have launched a detailed investigation into the Udumalpet elephant death case where the tusks were found missing from a decomposed pachyderm.

“The Udumalpet elephant postmortem has been completed and the death by gunshot or poisoning is not indicated by the autopsy findings, so a systematic crime scene investigation has ordered,” principal chief conservator of forests and chief wildlife warden Shekhar Kumar Niraj told DT Next. Vital organ samples have been collected for histopathological and serological examinations. Through the serological tests where the elephant had died naturally due to viral infection, or any other infection can be traced. The samples had also been taken for DNA fingerprinting. Metal detectors are used for detecting the old inserted bullets recovered from the carcass of the elephant, the top official said.

Ballistic forensic is going to be conducted through forensic labs. The cause is mysterious and if required we will involve the CBI for further investigations, Niraj added.

After the death of the jumbo, surveillance by the anti-poaching watchers has been intensified in the Anamalai Tiger Reserve (ATR) that is known for the movement of poachers between TN and Kerala, local foresters in ATR said. A more detailed investigation process is taken up to ascertain whether the poachers have killed the elephant or the tasks have been taken out from the jumbo that had naturally died, wildlife sources added.

It may be noted that on Sunday a wild elephant was found dead with its tusks missing, in the Udumalpet range of ATR. Tamil Nadu is home to more than 2000 elephants as per the 2017 data-census and the elephants are protected under schedule 1 of the wildlife protection act 1972.