Call for Central agency probe into elephant death

Tuskless male elephant died at Attappady after biting explosives in T.N. region

The death of a full-grown tuskless male elephant in Attappady on Wednesday following internal injuries suffered from apparent human cruelty has raised questions about the State Forest Department’s limitations in investigating the case.

Although the Forest Department has registered a case, officials said that they would soon hand it over to their counterparts in Tamil Nadu, from where the elephant was suspected to have suffered the injury after biting on explosives.

‘Proper probe unlikely’

Senior forest officers requesting anonymity said that they did not expect a proper investigation in Tamil Nadu, where more than a dozen similar cases were reported in recent times. They demanded that a national agency should investigate the elephant death at Attappady.

Although the elephant had suffered a severe injury to its tongue and pharynx, the wound in the pharyngeal region had healed following treatment given by a team led by State Forest Veterinary Officer Arun Zacharia on August 22.

Dr. Zacharia said the movements made by the elephant in the last four weeks across the Kerala-Tamil Nadu border had drained the three-metre tall animal, nicknamed “bulldozer” by the tribespeople of Attappady, of its life.

Necropsy findings

In the necropsy, it was found that its kidney had failed and it was extremely anaemic. “We could find myocardial lesions in the heart. The septicemia infection had spread. Although there were no huge pneumonic changes, pneumonia from aspiration was evident,” said Dr. Zacharia.

Forensic confirmation of the wound caused by an explosive was difficult as it had become too old. From evidence-based investigation, it was clear that the elephant chomped on explosives.

The animal had suffered no external injuries. According to experts, if the injury was caused from an attack by a tusker, the wound would have been in the upper palate. “There was no injury in the upper palate. Only the tongue was found torn. That means, it must have bitten on a low-grade cracker,” said Dr. Zacharia.

When an elephant was killed in a similar fashion at Ambalappara near Thiruvizhamkunnu in the Mannarkkad Forest Division on May 27, it had stirred a nationwide brouhaha. A couple of Central agencies too had started investigating the incident.