Indians For Guns

Dehra Dun: Man-animal conflict in the country is growing and tragically it is the animals, who can neither put their point of view nor form voting banks, who are at the receiving end.

The tusker, which has made the forests in the Rsihikesh area of this district in Uttarakhand has been eventually declared a rogue and the chief wildlife warden has given directions that it be shot.

The tusker first came to light when it killed Nand Chamoli in the region on July 9. There after it has been responsible for killing four others, Bahadur on July 13, Abbal Singh Rawat on Oct 3, Bhagwati Prasad on Oct 6 and its latest victim being Om Prakash Rana driver of MLA from Narendranagar on Nov 8. The last victim happened to be his undoing.

Enraged that his driver had been killed the legislators took to the roads with hundreds of people from his region and blocked the Badrinath and Gangotri highway on Wednesday.

Hundreds of people put the body of Om Prakash Rana at the Bhadrakali Tiraha and blocked the road, forcing the traffic to go haywire and the forest department, convene an emergency meeting on the issue.

Deliberations on what should be done on the tusker lasted for six hours and with growing pressure of the legislator, hundreds of his followers and thousands of commuters stranded on the road of the blockade, the decision went against the tusker.

With the forest authorities conveying the message that they could not move the elephant to another forest even by tranquilising the animal, it was decided to shoot the tusker, as he was rogue.

It was made clear that rules as laid down in the Forest Wildlife Act 1972 and the amended section 11 of 2006 would be implemented in letter and spirit while killing the tusker.

It states that only an expert shikari registered with the forest department can kill the animal with a 375 bore rifle after shooting it on the forehead or the heart. More importantly the animal will have to be identified that it is the rogue tusker before it is killed.

Though wildlife lovers in the region intended taking up cudgels for the tusker by pleading that it be tranquilised and shifted to another forest block in the trans-Ganga area, as had been done in 2004, when a similar rouge elephant was tranquilised and moved to the Rajaji Park from Hardwar.

Incidentally, the Dhalipur area was a thick forest once and was the abode of wild elephants in the past, but gradually as the forests were cut in the name of developmental projects, human settlements started coming over.

As such it is normal for elephants to move in the area, because they have been doing it for years but their presence now is irking the residents.

Informed sources in the forest department conceded that the 50-year-old tusker pronounced a rogue did not turn so over night.

Over the years, men have thrown boiling water at him, hit him with bricks and stones and raised a hue and cry whenever he has come near human habitation.

This is why the tusker gets infuriated on getting the smell of human being and attacks a man when he sees one, killing them.

But then who will listen to his side of the story and the one-sided verdict has already been delivered and signed.

Source: http://hillpost.in/2011/11/10/wildlife- ... news/bhatt

Poor elephant! He just happened to be at the wrong place at the wrong time. Well, in a country where mob power dominates everything, he is obviously expendable! (how dare he kill an MLA's driver!!! "He does not know who I am" mentality at its worst.)

God bless the pachyderm. God bless this country.

Pressure from the local MLA forces the Forest Dept to declare the elephant a rogue.
The local Neta takes a thousand supporters and blocks the highway. The dead body of his driver is placed on the crossing. A major traffic jam.Thousands are stranded on the roads.

A team of hunters is invited the same day and they start to search the jungle for the Rogue.

Pressure from Wildlife lovers and enthusiasts who don't want the Tusker shot gives temporary reprieve for the animal.

The present status: The hunters and experts from the Forest Dept. will first study the movement of the Rogue for a month before deciding to relocated/shoot the animal.

i just have a long chat with Prashant over this and he told me all the story, it's not make any sence to cancel the permit to hunt down this elephant ,

What thay are waiting for ? 5 human life is allready gone , are thay whant see more ? this is nothing but stupid ideia to cancel that permit, that elephant should be down before he kill some one.

Baljit

Hmmm....very captivating story...and a very sad one to boot!

I wish I were 'Tarzan of the Apes' and could get 'Tantor' under control with...."hey old friend - I am sorry your grazing grounds have been invaded and taken over, your food supply reduced nay, your very existence threatened frequently but, can you give these ignorant humans (gomangani) another chance? So that they may give YOU another lease of life to live in peace with them, on the very land / surroundings that were already yours to begin with?"

'Tantor' in this case, having taken five human lives...probably deserves to be put down (as a man-killer / rogue / in-musth) in our understanding as it is right now! Nevertheless, I am sure, to take the life of such a magnificent creature as this, needs much thought and as much allowed leeway erring, as much possible on Tantor's side . Having been an avid hunter many years ago...still participating in hunts - I rest my case!

4 people killed before, nobody cared much. Once the driver of MLA killed, BAM! a insane tusker on killing spree. I think not just people's harassment, he may also get access to some alcohol which turned him into a drunken maniac. Here it's common for drunken elephant to destroy houses in search of homemade rice beers (Locally known as 'Laupani' or 'Apong') if people interferes during their "Search and consume" they don't hesitate to kill them. Also some people feeds the wild elephant bananas, tree leaves thinking "Ganesh Baba" this causes them to lose their natural fear for human. If you ever went through Nambar forest by bus you'll see how people throws bananas at elephants in the hope of safe journey, thus giving the elephants a bad habit. Things gotten to the point that the elephants gather near road when they hear a vehicle coming to get food and if the passengers don't give them food the elephants chase the vehicle.

Over the years, men have thrown boiling water at him, hit him with bricks and stones and raised a hue and cry whenever he has come near human habitation.

Did they forget to mention firecrackers blown near elephants' ear? I think this infuriate them more since elephants ear is very sensitive.

the basic problem is population explotion.
expanding population needs more space and so is the conflict,unless and until this is rectified,it will happen again and again.
look at europe ,they have so much space to live,conserve,hunt and still live in harmony with nature.
hope some day our lawmakers look into this!
regards

Our wildlife boundaries are like bays and peninsulas.Wild animals do follow a specific path/route to their habitual areas and stray into such habitation only on enticement of food or water. When illegal human settlements or old settlements that have over grown and become overpopulated , we do not cull humans or limit the size of them or the habitations. Instead in the name of RURAL OR TRIBAL [/b]DEVELOPMENT, the local Neta /illiterate political heads of govt,/ and incompetent IAS and IFS babus do not know or foresee things to come, except for their own gains and formulate plans and schemes, build roads and guest houses that brings more disturbances and destruction to the animals and their habitat. I have seen siren wailing vehicles pass through Satyamangalam tiger reserve.If the MLA in question or his driver were of this kind , I dont think why that ROUGE elephant in this case is called a Rouge in the first place. The rouge can be HONOURED as the tough forest guard also.

The hunting orders have not yet been passed. The job of the Shikar party is to first identify the correct animal.
Once identified the animal will be either terminated or relocated.

Sometimes,i do wonder.. what if wild animals had voting rights?

this is sad,,the authorities should think of reconsidering their decision on transporting the tusker to a other area,where human encounter is rare rather than kill him....there has to be some way.....the ever increase of human population and encroachment on the wild animals heavenly abode and animal-human conflict,,i wonder what will the situation 50-100years from now when there will be no more forest..i guess our great grand children will see them only in museum

Most unfortunate!

While we may have advanced in certain fields we are still very primitive when it comes to issues related to nature, wildlife, environment, etc.

Shooting the rouge tusker is not the solution. We need to look at the man-animal conflict and educate the local population that has encroached into the forest area.

Why can't the local wildlife authorities tranquilise and move the animal to another 'deep' forest area where it will not come in contact with humans?

The initial part was very similar to the Devprayag episode.
The Tusker killed the driver of a local M.L.A.This was his 5th victim. A thousand people gathered with the dead man's body and blocked the highway . A number of travellers were left stranded for a full day.
In Devprayag timely action had prevented all this.
The place where the Rougue had last struck was on the outskirts of Rishikesh. Rishikesh is a small town on the banks of the Ganga.
As the Ganga cascades down the Himalayas and enters the plains, its flow is put to check by a lesser (but older) mountain range called the Shivaliks.
Legend has it that when lord Shiva released the Ganga from his hair he opened his locks to slow down the flow of the mighty river , as it fell to the earth.
In a similar manner the Shivaliks slow down the flow of the Ganga as it meanders through them .
Apart from the millions of people living along the Ganga,the river feeds the Himalayan jungles and dense Saal forests of Shivalik forests.These green belts contain a rich variety of flora and fauna.
Over the years , increase human population , roads and a network of Canals have cut off the Elephant Corridors. The elephants who have been travelling for decades on these routes suddenly find themselves localised in ever shrinking pockets . In such a situation Man-Animal conflict is inevitable.

Some snaps to start with.

essdee1972 wrote:Poor elephant! He just happened to be at the wrong place at the wrong time. Well, in a country where mob power dominates everything, he is obviously expendable! (how dare he kill an MLA's driver!!! "He does not know who I am" mentality at its worst.)

God bless the pachyderm. God bless this country.

I would word it a bit differently... God bless the pachyderm. God save this country.