7-member panel to study elephant deaths in dist

Coimbatore: The state government has constituted a seven-member expert committee to study elephant deaths that have occurred in the Coimbatore forest division over the past three years. The committee has six months to submit the report.

The move comes after 15 elephants were found dead in the forest division since January 2020. One of them was shot dead as recently as Thursday (July 2). Of the 15, eight of the causalities were reported in the Sirumugai forest range.

The panel will study all the 57 elephant deaths that occurred in the division from January 2017 to July 02, 2020.

Debasis Jana, additional principal chief conservator of forests, Coimbatore circle, said, “The committee will investigate the cause of wild elephant deaths. It will also study the elephant habitations and availability of green fodder in the division.”

In its detailed report, the committee would have to provide suggestions to minimize or prevent the death of elephants. The report has to be submitted to principal chief conservator of forests and chief wildlife warden S Yuvaraj.

Sheker Kumar Niraj, additional principal conservator of forests (wildlife) would head the committee that comprises experts Ajay Desai from Bengaluru, Sivaganesan from Chennai and C Arivazhagan, managing trustee of Indo-American Wildlife Society in Chennai, and veterinarians M Kalaivanan, A Pradeep and D Boominathan, world wildlife fund, Coimbatore.

Debasis Jana and D Venkatesh, district forest officer (DFO), will provide elephant death related information to the committee, which would also scrutinize autopsy reports.

The forest department is, meanwhile, planning to increase the green fodder inside the reserve forest in the division, the scarcity of which often force wild elephants to eat thorny trees that take a toll on their health. The department would also weed out invasive seemai karuvelam (prosopis juliflora) in the reserve forest.

The DFO said, “An adult elephant needs at least 200kg to 250kg fodder daily. Elephants roaming in Sirumugai forest range is not getting enough green fodder. So, they are forced to eat seemai karuvelam. We have to remove the thorny trees and cultivate indigenous species to ensure green fodder for wild elephants.”

Earlier, the forest department used to keep salt cakes and fruits with de-worming pellets near waterbodies in the reserve forest for wild elephants to help improve their health. “We plan to start the practice in two months,” the officer said.


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