Poisoned by villagers, wild elephant found dead in Tripura

Kalyanpur (Tripura) [India], Oct. 28 (ANI): A wild elephant was found dead lying on an uncultivated land in Gudai village near Kalyanpur Police Station recently. Symptoms show that the animal might have died due to poisoning by pesticide given by the villagers. Ratan Debbarma, a local villager, told ANI: "We noticed a herd of around 12 to 14 wild elephants including a calf in the eastern Gudai village area. We tried to scare them away but failed. This morning we came to know that an elephant was lying dead there. We don't know how it died." The forest officials along with veterinary surgeon are conducting an autopsy to find out the actual cause of death. District Forest Officer (DFO) Pritam Bhattacharjee said, "The elephant is a sub-adult male and is around four years old. I came here along with the veterinary surgeon after we got the information from the locals. Only after completion of the veterinary examination, we shall dispose the body as per the guidelines. The veterinary surgeon felt that it may be a case of poisoning. He has collected blood, tissue and organ samples for investigation." The attack on wild elephants in Kalyanpur area is quite rampant and every year just before the harvest of paddy and other crops, especially during the dry season, when there is a crisis of food and water in the jungles, herds of wild elephants enter the cultivated fields and destroy crops leading to conflicts within the locals. Earlier also, there have been reports of death of elephants mainly due to electrocution in Kalyanpur area. (ANI)