The discovery of 13 carcasses of elephants, some with bullet wounds, in the past two months has brought under sharp focus the spurt in poaching of jumbos in Odisha.
Such an increase in suspected elephant poaching is being reported in the State after a decade. In 2010, carcasses of 14 elephants were found in and around Similipal Biosphere Reserve. This time, the Athagarh forest division in Cuttack district has been the centre of suspected poaching activities with five of the 13 elephants perishing in the region.
Though the Odisha government has constituted a special investigating team involving forest and crime branch officials to probe elephant death cover-ups in Athagarh area and some forest department personnel have been arrested, there is no end to elephants being targeted by hunters.
A group of veterinarians on Friday struggled in vain to save the life of a tusker which reportedly had five bullet injuries in Narsinghpur (west) Forest Range in Cuttack district. After locals spotted the injured elephant, the forest department initially claimed that the animal may have been injured due to infighting in the herd. But after activists raised hue and cry, the injured elephant was traced and treatment was extended.
In a similar recent case, the forest department moved to trace an injured elephant only after Debi Prasad Mishra, Baramba MLA, took to social media about the jumbo.
Poaching deaths
Five cases of poaching deaths were reported between June 14 and July 21 this year. In four cases, gunshot wounds were found while electrocution caused the death of the fifth elephant. Similarly, in the last two months, the State has seen seven cases of concealment of elephant deaths and about nine forest department officials have been arrested. Two forest department officials are absconding.
Now, hearing a Public Interest Litigation, the Orissa High Court has directed the State’s Principal Chief Conservator of Forest (Wildlife) to submit a report on the spurt in elephant deaths.
“Poachers in the State are having a free run. As forest department has failed take stringent action or not managed to achieve conviction in wildlife crime cases during past two decades, criminals are operating in forests without any fear. The intelligence network to detect such crime has broken down with forest department officials not showing interest in patrolling,” charged Biswajit Mohanty, secretary of Wildlife Society of Orissa (WSO) and a wildlife activist.
As per the WSO estimate, of the 970 elephants that have died in the State since 2010, only 426 perished due to natural reasons, which is less than 45% of the total deaths.
“The reason could not be ascertained in over 200 cases primarily due to highly decomposed bodies, some of them down to skins and bones. A majority of these deaths may be due to unnatural reasons. About 145 jumbos were either poached or poisoned while 145 were electrocuted,” said the WSO.
“The finding of an elephant carcass whose death is unnatural would require filing a case, investigating and trying to apprehend the culprits. It is tedious work for an officer and staff. Forest staff prefer to take up lucrative plantation and eco-tourism work instead of protecting wildlife and punishing offenders,” Mr. Mohanty said.
He further said the fear of being punished with suspension for dereliction of duty prompts lower-level staff to not report an unnatural death as seniors of the division do not offer any support or instil confidence.
Odisha government came out with a circular in 2012 to hold Divisional Forest Officers (DFOs) accountable for each and every unnatural elephant death. However, DFOs are hardly being punished.
The Animal Disease Research Institute (ADRI), Phulnakhara had received 20 samples from carcasses of elephants that had supposedly died of Anthrax, from Similipal, Hadgarh and Kuldiha sanctuaries between August 2017 and December 2019. Only two were found to be Anthrax-positive which meant that 90% of the suspected Anthrax cases were false, WSO said.
The wildlife pressure group alleged that dead male elephants are shown as females on record (only males are hunted for ivory). Attempts are also made to claim jumbo deaths as buffalo deaths. Ages of deceased elephants are deliberately reduced in order to rule out poaching, it said.
Senior forest department officials refused to comment on the issue saying the Odisha Assembly was in session and the case related to elephant deaths is sub-judice.
