A committee formed by the Department of Environment, Climate Change and Forests to verify facts of the elephant deaths in Tamil Nadu in the past one year does not have veterinarians and field biologists as members.
Three IFS officers — Additional Principal Chief Conservator of Forests I. Anwardeen; C.H. Padma, Working Plan Officer, Vellore; and J.R. Samartha, Deputy Conservator of Forests (on compulsory wait) — and K. Kalidasan of the Coimbatore-based NGO ‘Osai’ are the members.
“Though the committee has been formed to study the reasons for elephant deaths, it does not have an experienced veterinarian and a field biologist as members. The committee will not serve its purpose in the absence of at least an elephant expert and a veterinarian,” a senior biologist said.
A total of 10 elephants died in the forests of Coimbatore district alone from January 1 to March 31 — seven in the Coimbatore forest division and three in the Pollachi division of the Anamalai Tiger Reserve. The skeletal remains of two elephants, believed to have died last year, were also found this year in the Coimbatore forests. Elephant deaths were reported in other districts, too, in the past three months.
“When multi-dimensional reasons could have caused the death of the elephants, the committee should be a multi-disciplinary one. If the trend continues, the State may witness more elephant deaths. The results of the histopathological examination of the samples collected from the carcasses should be analysed,” said another biologist, who has collaborated with the Department in the past.
The Principal Chief Conservator of Forests and Chief Wildlife Warden has asked the committee to make field visits and find out the reasons for the death of elephants, especially younger ones. The committee has also been asked to convene meetings with local residents and field teams to evolve methodologies for intense monitoring and to avoid unnatural incidents. It has been instructed to submit a plan for better monitoring.
A senior official of the Department, who was in the know of the formation of the committee, did not comment when asked about the exclusion of elephant experts and veterinarians.
