The New Indian Express, Oct 27, 2007
BHAWANIPATNA: Poaching of elephants in Kalahandi in the recent time has shocked wildlife lovers. Organised poachers, it seems, have once again become active.
Recently, the poachers killed two tuskers at two places. They beheaded them to take the tusks out. A third elephant, forest staff said, is roaming around with bleeding injuries.
The first incident was reported near Sagada river close to the Karlapat wildlife sanctuary while the second incident took place inside the sanctuary itself. The forst staff are on the trail of the injured pachyderm.
A forest guard has been suspended, but nobody has been arrested as yet. Possibly, the poachers from the North-East are once again eyeing the Kalahandi forests.
In 2002, a five-member gang from Manipur had shot dead five tuskers. They were later nabbed. Once out on bail, they have not been traced thereafter.
In Kalahandi, the elephants stay in and around the Karlapat sanctuary and also in Urladani pocket of Madanpur Rampur Block. Now with the systematic poaching, the equilibrium has been disturbed.
In the absence of trenching in Karlapat, elephants stray from the sanctuary and destroy crops in plain areas — a problem that is persistent for the last few years.
The injured tuskers are also chased outside the sanctuary for easy preying.
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