7 months ago
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Forest officials person discovered the decayed remains of 3 elephants, including a calf, successful a backstage wood adjacent the Tamil Nadu – Andhra Pradesh border.
According to a merchandise from Chief Wildlife Warden Rakesh Kumar Dogra, the find was reported connected December 4 by the District Forest Officer, Vellore, aft tract unit detected the carcasses adjacent a waterhole during regular patrolling successful the backstage wood named Bhaimala.
The wood lies adjacent to the Kondapalli Reserved Forests successful the Vellore part and adjacent to Andhra Pradesh’s Koundinya Wildlife Sanctuary, an country known for predominant interstate elephant movement. The tract is located wrong Tamil Nadu, astir 4 to 5 kilometres from the State boundary.
A peculiar squad led by A. Periasamy, Chief Conservator of Forests, Villupuram, on with Sridhar, Forest Veterinary Officer astatine Arignar Anna Zoological Park, has been dispatched for a elaborate inspection. Officials from the Advanced Institute for Wildlife Conservation person besides been asked to assistance the probe done the postulation of forensic samples.
Given the proximity to the Koundinya Wildlife Sanctuary, the Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (Head of Forest Force), Andhra Pradesh, has been requested to enactment an interstate inquiry. Acting connected this request, the Conservator of Forests, Anantapur, has deployed a squad from the Chittoor part to enactment successful the associated investigation. Authorities stated that each imaginable samples volition beryllium collected and analysed to find the origin of death.
The find comes hardly a period aft a akin incidental successful the aforesaid landscape. In aboriginal November, the remains of a 10-year-old pistillate elephant were recovered successful the Mordhana Extension Reserve Forest astatine Aravatla colony adjacent Pernambut, besides on the Tamil Nadu–Andhra Pradesh border.
Forest unit connected patrol located the carcass, reduced to skeletons and hide, adjacent a watercourse successful hilly terrain adjacent to the Mordhana dam. The country lies astir 3 kilometres from the Kaundinya Wildlife Sanctuary, connected an established elephant corridor utilized by herds moving betwixt the sanctuary and neighbouring Karnataka.
A post-mortem by a veterinary squad from Hosur suggested the carnal whitethorn person slipped from an elevated country portion searching for water. The elephant was believed to person died astatine slightest six weeks earlier.
The District Forest Officer (DFO), Vellore division, S. Ashok Kumar connected Thursday said that h2o samples from the pond successful a backstage wood country adjacent Gudipalli Reserve Forest (RF) successful Vellore volition beryllium tested to find existent origin of the death.
Speaking to The Hindu, Mr. Kumar said that a 25-member wood squad led by Chief Wildlife Warden Rakesh Kumar Dogra inspected the spot, astir 5 km from Koundinya Wildlife Sanctuary (A.P) wherever the remains of the elephants were located aboriginal successful the time by tract staff.
They were accompanied by a 10-member wood squad from Chittoor part (A.P). “In the preliminary inquiry, signs of electrocution oregon injuries connected the animals were not found,” Mr. Kumar said.
