Environmentalists oppose 'unlawful' darting of elephant in Wayanad

Kochi: Environmentalists filed a petition with the state chief wildlife warden (CWW) against the unlawful darting of a wild elephant within the elephant corridor on the eastern flanks of Chembra Peak in Wayanad.

The CWW ordered the darting to tranquilise a wild elephant in Meppadi following allegations by locals that the elephant trampled an estate worker to death on Thursday night.

The petition, signed under ‘For Coexistence Collective, Kerala' and the Ernakulam-based NGO ANEC, was sent to the CWW and other forest department authorities in the state and the Centre. It demanded the withdrawal of the move and the protection of the elephant corridor. As the darting operation amounts to violations of various laws, the petition demanded the assurance of ecological sensitive zone-related incentives to farmers, a ban on sound pollution activities that disturb wildlife at night, and the identification of illegal tourism resorts in the area, among other demands. It warned of legal action against the authorities if they failed to stop these violations and halt the darting operation.

The petition noted that uncontrolled tourism activities fragment the forest and lead to man-animal conflicts. It highlighted that more than 1,000 legal and illegal tourism resorts operate in Vythiri and Meppadi, disturbing the wildlife.

Meanwhile, the environmentalists noted that the department has not even identified the elephant which allegedly killed the estate worker Arumugan. The petition demanded that the elephant be continuously tracked, observed, monitored, and a database created to ensure that it has a tendency to attack humans before darting and capturing. The petition said that the govt is violating the existing provisions of the Indian wildlife and environment laws.

"A Schedule-1 animal can be captured and removed from its ecosystem only if it is an inevitable situation, and a forest official succumbing to the pressures of locals is such a pathetic situation," it read.