Meera Bhardwaj
A controversy has erupted on the issue of death of a female elephant which struggled for 15 days without any veterinary care in the forests of Uttar Kannada district in Karnataka state. The State Forest department said a report from the district officials is awaited while local people, wildlife experts and activists have alleged that the animal had sustained gunshot injuries.
By the time, forest officials took action on Wednesday morning by removing the animal from the water body with the help of a crane, the elephant died on Thursday night in Gunjavathi forests after struggling for two weeks without any treatment for its bullet wounds.
Local people reported sightings of the injured elephant roaming desperately in pain and moving from one lake to another. However, local officials said that it had died because of a festering bacterial infection in its right ear with the elephant submerging itself in the Arlikatte Kere [lake] again and again to alleviate its pain.
A wildlife forensic expert said, “A physical analysis reveals the elephant had sustained multiple gunshot wounds and therefore, it had secondary conditions like toxemia and septicemia as a consequence of injuries. The animal had puncture wounds on its body and the visible wound pattern is suggestive of gunshot wounds. The elephant was shot multiple times and going by its pattern of wound there was need for correlating field findings and send it for further ballistic analysis.”
Further, a local activist from Uttar Kannada said local forest officials were trying to cover up the issue that the pachyderm had died due to gunshot wounds. This may have happened when some people attempted to drive away the animal on their own. There is need for detailed analysis by an independent agency. People who shot at the animal should be traced and a case registered against them.
PCCF and Head of Forest Force Sanjai Mohan told Green Minute the postmortem was done on Friday and he was awaiting a complete report from the DCF. He added, “Let the report come – the elephant was weak and looks to have sustained injuries. Unlike Kodagu where people have guns – in Uttar Kannada, the scenario is different.”
Comment here