The forest department has requested tribes to cooperate with them to prevent poaching in the reserve forest area. The department also warned them against getting involved in any illegal activities.
The forest department and OSAI, an NGO, conducted an awareness program against poaching at Alamarathumedu in Anaikatti, along the Tamil Nadu -Kerala border on Sunday.
K Kalidasan, president of OSAI, said that a three year-old female elephant calf sustained severe injuries on its mouth when the calf had bitten a crude explosive used for hunting down wild boars in an agricultural field in Periya Thadagam. The calf was unable to eat and was very weak. It eventually died inside a brick kiln unit near Mangarai.
“Farmers and tribes should be aware that hunting down wild animals is a punishable offence. People should not be hunting down wild animals using crude explosives,” said Kalidasan. They should support the forest department in their effort to conserve wild life. Police should be informed of any suspicious movements within the forest.
More than 80 people from Anaikatti, Jambukandi, Melpathi, Keelpathi, Kootupulikadu, Thoomanur, Sembukkarai and a few more villages participated in the meeting. They requested the forest department to dig elephant proof trenches (EPT) to prevent entry into agricultural fields.