The genetic profiling of the 400-odd captive elephants of the State will begin shortly. The Wildlife Institute of India (WII), which is carrying out the profiling to add the details of the elephants to a national database, has provided the forensic kits to the Kerala Forest department.
The department has entrusted assistant conservators (social forestry) in the districts with the responsibility of collecting blood and dung samples of the animals in their respective areas. An online training programme has also been planned for the forest officials on April 5 and 6 on sample collection, and updating the reports. The sample collection is expected to begin during the second week of April.
