Even elephants are not safe in Bengal’s strife-torn Junglemahal. Maoist camps block their migration routes, and hostile locals poison them.
Three elephants were found dead in the area in December and January and they were poisoned to death, say forest officials.
Following the death of a tusker on January 29, the Divisional Forest Officer, Kharagpur, had formed an inquiry committee. Their report, which came on Tuesday, says the cause of deaths is “Thymate” — a pesticide used by farmers. The bodies of the elephants — two of them tuskers — bore no injury marks.
The investigations revealed that it was not an instance of poaching, as the tusks were found intact. “We have sent the viscera samples of the elephant killed on January 29 to the state forensic laboratory. We will get the report in a few months and will start proceedings as per the Wildlife Protection Act,” said Milan Kanti Mondal, DFO, Kharagpur.
The tusker was found dead on January 29 in Dadra village of Keshiary block in West Midnapore. Another female elephant was found dead at Dheradara village in Sankrail block. At Pungiri village of Nayagram block, yet another tusker was found dead on December 11.
Forest officials said they have not been able to preserve the viscera samples of the elephants at Dheradara and Pungiri villages. The elephants in South Bengal, whose number has now swelled to about 120, mostly come from the Dalma forest in Jharkhand. They cover a 100-150 km stretch across Belpahari, Banspahari and Lalgarh in West Midnapore and move into Bankura’s Bishnupur and Barjora.
Forest officials say the animals were killed mostly by “hostile” locals, whose crops and houses get damaged owing to the migration. The man-animal conflict in Bankura and West Midnapore has increased over last few years.
Currently there are around 100 elephants in Bankura and West Midnapore, which should have gone back to Dalma forests by now. “The elephants used to come from Jharkhand in August and return in January,” said Atanu Raha, Principal Chief Conservator of Forests, West Bengal. “Even last year, a herd of around 80 elephants did not return.”
The officials say the elephants are not able to return because of the Maoist camps that lie on their transit route. “There is a possibility that the route has been blocked,” Raha said.
