Tusker dies of injuries after elephant fight in Dudhwa Tiger Reserve

PILIBHIT: An adult tusker, critically injured in a fight with another elephant, died in the South Sonaripur forest range of the Dudhwa Tiger Reserve (DTR) on Sunday.The injured animal collapsed in front of the reserve’s field director, H Rajamohan, during his routine inspection in the afternoon. Forest staff accompanying him waited for some movement, but when none was observed, an examination confirmed that the tusker had succumbed to its injuries. Officials said the fight is believed to have taken place on the intervening night of Saturday and Sunday.A postmortem conducted by a panel of three veterinary officers, following the prescribed protocol of the MoEFCC, revealed multiple ruptures in internal organs caused by deep penetration of the attacker’s tusks, leading to excessive internal bleeding. The tusker was estimated to be between 25 and 28 years old.“A herd of 29 elephants had been moving in the area and the said tusker was part of this group. He was often seen moving alone, which helped the forest team identify him,” Rajamohan said.Notably, the DTR had only four to five resident elephants in the Katarniaghat Wildlife Sanctuary about a decade ago. However, due to transboundary migration from Nepal and the reserve’s conducive environment, abundant food, water and shelter, the elephant population in Dudhwa has now grown to over 100.