Assam: Elephants being poached for meat

By Sivasish Thakur

BEHALI (Biswanath), May 12: Even as the State’s human-elephant conflict continues to hog media limelight, another sinister phenomenon that has taken a heavy toll on elephants is hardly noticed. 

A number of elephants have fallen prey to poachers in and around Behali reserve forest (RF) bordering Arunachal Pradesh in Biswanath district of Assam in the past three-four months. Even more disturbing could be the fact that the killings have largely been driven by the demand for elephant meat in Arunachal Pradesh.

While the killing of three elephants this year has been officially acknowledged, wildlife activists allege a greater number of fatalities at the hands of poachers.

During a field visit to Behali RF, this correspondent came across the site where two elephants – a mother and her calf – were killed by poachers one month back. The remains of the elephants were laid to rest in the area.

At least four elephants have fallen to poachers in and around the Behali landscape along the Assam-Arunachal Pradesh border this year – a trend discernible for the past several years. Even a greater number of the pachyderms get killed on the other side of the border every year. Ivory has been a factor behind elephant poaching, but the demand for meat is probably a bigger factor for which even sub-adult elephants are being killed,” several wildlife activists this correspondent talked to asserted.

Elephant meat has been a much-preferred delicacy in many areas of Arunachal Pradesh where the meat is shared among the people in villages as well as sold in the markets. The meat is also sold in smoked and dry varieties.

“Many tribes in Arunachal as also in other Northeastern states relish elephant meat, which is a definite reason behind the dwindling number of elephants in the region. Due to the laxity of the Assam forest department and the Assam government, poachers from Arunachal enter the Assam side of the contiguous belts of border forests such as Behali with impunity and kill elephants,” local community leader Langki Kiling, who is also a village headman and founder member of NGO Nature’s Bonyapran, said.

When asked about the recent poaching cases, a forest officer said that investigation into the killings was on. He, however, refused to comment on whether any poacher from Arunachal was involved in the killings.

“There have been earlier instances of elephants killed by poachers from Arunachal side. However, there could be a nexus between poachers from Arunachal with local contacts as well in the latest cases. We are looking into every aspect,” he added.

Bihmari, Serelia Bon Gaon, Hatimora, etc., are areas which have witnessed elephant poaching in recent times. “While the mother and calf were killed close to Serelia Bon Gaon, Bihmari and Hatimora areas had also witnessed elephant killing,” activist Parikshit Kafley said.

So abysmal is the security scenario inside Behali RF that poachers from Arunachal move around openly with guns and had on several occasions threatened local conservation activists not to venture into the forests.

The Special Task Force (STF) of Assam Police had recovered 15.2 kg of illegally smuggled elephant tusks during an anti-poaching operation near the Assam-Arunachal Pradesh border in Dhemaji district on April 10.

Earlier in February, the Wildlife Crime Control Bureau (WCC), in a joint operation with the local police, recovered elephant tusks weighing 3.731 kg and arrested a person from Tamulpur district. Last year, several persons were arrested in Assam with elephant tusks and body parts of other animals, including tigers.

Elephant killing aside, poaching of deer for meat has been widespread in Behali where miscreants from both Assam and Arunachal are involved.

Behali, which warrants upgrade to a wildlife sanctuary, suffers from inadequate security. Among the existing manpower, too, a good number are aged and ailing, hence unfit for the rigours of frontline patrolling.