Horror as Young Elephant is Beaten to Death in Assam
Yesterday Elephant Family was appalled to receive news and footage of a wild elephant calf apparently being beaten to death by angry villagers after it strayed into paddy fields in Assam, India, on Tuesday. Reports and the horrifying NDTV news clip suggest that more than 200 villagers went into a frenzy, attacking the young elephant with sticks, bamboo poles and ropes outside a village approximately 60km from Assam’s main city of Guwahati. Exact details of the incident are still emerging, but while there are some conflicting reports, it seems that the calf’s family had wandered into an area where clashes between elephants and people are frequent and intense, and that the calf became separated from its family while trying to flee the enraged villagers. As yet, there have been no further reports of where the rest of the infant’s family went.
The infant was killed just days after the elephant was officially declared a “National Heritage Animal” in India, following the earlier recommendations of the Elephant Task Force Report, a move designed to afford it even more protection. It is of course illegal to kill an elephant, and what makes the killing even more alarming is that at least two armed personnel – a forest ranger and a policeman – are reported to have been present, and appear in the footage failing to intervene. Eyewitness accounts said the crowd was however unstoppable. A vet from the Wildlife Trust of India can also be seen struggling to intervene. He was striving to sedate the calf and rescue it to their Centre for Wildlife Rehabilitation and Conservation near Kaziranga National Park, but was powerless among the crowd.
Bibhab Talukdar, the secretary general of the conservation organisation Aaranyak, which works extensively in Assam, declared the act “inhuman” and insisted that it “be condemned in the strongest possible term”. He added that: “The government should hold an enquiry into the matter and punish all those involved in the act”. The State Forest and Environment Minister Rockybul Hussain has since vowed to visit the area to personally investigate the matter.
Sadly this will not be an isolated incident, but that it was such a young, defenceless infant, and that it was captured on film by an amateur, really brings home the plight of the Asian elephant. As elephant habitat is increasingly lost to agriculture, industry or other development, the elephants are being squeezed out of their natural homes and regularly raid crops. Despite having a prominent role in the mythology and spiritual traditions of the region, the levels of conflict between elephants and people have become so extreme that traditional beliefs now count for little. Communities increasingly see elephants as pests, and retribution is often sought for lost crops, damaged property and even the deaths of community members killed by elephants during conflicts. Earlier this month four elephants, including two pregnant cows, are thought to have been poisoned for straying from the Kaziranga National Park into neighbouring tea gardens.
Conflict between people and elephants is on the rise, not just in Assam, but throughout much of the Asian elephant’s range. Conservationists estimate that in India alone one elephant and one person die each day from coming into conflict. Elephant Family is therefore appealing for support so that it can enhance its measures to prevent such escalations of conflict in the future. Please support these vital initiatives by clicking here.
The footage of this horrifying incident can be viewed here, but please note that it is very disturbing, and so we urge caution before viewing it.
written by Dan Bucknell on 29th October 10
