Kalpetta: One more elephant was shot killed in Wayanad on Sunday. With this the total number of elephants shot killed in the district during the last five months have gone up to three.
The carcass of the wild elephant, a makna, was found in a paddy field close to the forest at Athirattukunnu near Kenichira, here under the South Wayanad Forest Division.
The carcass was found in the paddy field of Gopalakrishnan, a farmer. Some stretches of paddy were found destroyed by the animal, it was pointed out. The first information of the incident came out when the farmer informed the forest officials about the carcass.
South Wayanad DFO Abdul Aziz told DC that the post mortem of the animal has been conducted and the carcass was buried in deep jungle. Noted veterinary surgeon Dr Arun Zachariah conducted the post mortem. “We have no clue about the culprits so far,” he said, adding that the animal was a 20-year-old makna elephant.
The incident took place in the wee hours of the day. However some officials pointed out that the area is not a regular stretch endearing for wild elephants. It is believed that the poachers might have hit upon the animal by accident while roaming in the jungle.
It is to be recalled that another elephant was killed in the Wayanad wildlife sanctuary by poachers in May last which was believed to be a revenge killing in retaliation to the closure of resorts and restricting the movements of poachers by the forest department. Another elephant was killed in Chethalayam near Pulppalli.
