OOTY: The death of a wild elephant at Pandalur limits in the Nilgiris border last Sunday has sparked a new controversy. While the clandestine use of explosives in the forest fringes is suspected to have injured the elephant, greens alleged that lack of a forest veterinarian and expertise in dealing with jumbos led to the mess.
Foresters made efforts to rescue and treat a 30-year-old female wild elephant found in frail health in the jungle fringes in Padaicherri hamlet in Pandalur on Sunday. They used a crane to lift the elephant and shift it into the nearby woods, but it was of no avail and the poor elephant died in the process.
Though it was considered another wild elephant death, three days later, voices are raised in anger. “An injury was said to be found inside the mouth of the elephant. Generally, miscreants fix small explosives inside fruits or vegetables and place them in the forest fringes to kill wild boars. There are chances that this elephant could have eaten such an explosive-loaded vegetable or fruit and got its mouth injured. Foresters failed to look into this aspect,” green activists in Pandalur maintained.
However, Mr. B.K. Kumaran, president of the Nilgiris Ecology and Animals Protection Samithi, said the haste with which foresters treated the animal with only a local veterinarian who is not an expert , makes one question their wisdom.
“Usually, the forest veterinarian at the Mudumalai Tiger Reserve (MTR) takes care of the treatment and rescue of wild elephants in the whole of Nilgiris. Unfortunately, the MTR is without a forest veterinarian for the past five months and state must appoint one immediately ,” he noted.
