21 elephants killed in two decades

As he mentioned in the book, the tusks, tails and nails of the dead elephants were taken away by the forest department. After the bones and ribs of the elephant, the villagers took them. A dead elephant is worth more than a living one.

Elephant terror increased in Jhapa after multi-party. The elephants used to reach the Koshi Tappu by tying their trunks from the eastern bahundangi. In the 2050s, Neelkanth Tiwari, the then president of Bahundangi village, also bought a gun to stop elephant terror. However, since it was a time of conflict, the security personnel took control of the gun.

It has been found that guns were used in the recent incidents of elephants being killed in Jhapa and Morang. However, the process of electrocution of elephants has not stopped. In the recent series of three incidents, it was found that guns were used to kill elephants, but here most of the elephants were killed by shooting them.

Who and why is killing elephants? The concerned body seems to be unaware of this. However, conservationists express concern saying that serial killing of elephants is a serious issue. "Constantly killing elephants is not a good thing," conservationist Shankar Luintel expressed his concern. He also expressed suspicion that the gang of smugglers might be involved in killing the elephants. "Because the tusks, tails and other items have been taken away, big gangs may be active in killing elephants," he said. Last May 4, a dead elephant was found in the middle of Mechinagar-13 Kalika community forest area of ​​Jhapa. Both tusks of the 45-year-old male elephant were cut. It was later confirmed that the elephant was killed using a shotgun. Elephants were killed and their tusks, tails and nails were taken away by the gang of smugglers. Those organs are considered precious. Conservationists believe that international gangs are involved in wildlife smuggling.

On Thursday morning, a wild elephant was found dead in Wahuwan area located in Mechinagar-3 of Jhapa. A dead elephant found near the local Dharadhare river had deep injuries on its neck. A post-mortem by a team of doctors from the Koshi Tappu Wildlife Sanctuary confirmed that the elephant was killed with a shotgun. It has been found that elephants were killed in the same manner as in the previous Mechinagar-13 incident.

Ved Prakash Bhandari, President of Community Forest Users Group, Jhapa, said that 15 gun pellets were found in the body of the elephant during the post-mortem. He said, "It is clear that the death of the elephant was caused by a gun shot." Dara, a male elephant about 10 years old, was very young. Due to which it is assumed that the smuggler group may have been uncomfortable to cut the cord.

Last December 16, a wild elephant was also shot and killed in Sundarharaincha-10 Janjagaran Community Forest of Morang. Lal Bahadur Majhi, officer of Division Forest Office, Salakpur, said that while visiting the scene, two shots were fired at the elephant's left leg and neck.

It was suspected that the elephant was killed by a gang of smugglers. The elephant was killed and its tail taken. According to Division Forest Office Jhapa, 6 elephants have been killed in Jhapa and Morang this year. In which four elephants were killed in Jhapa alone. Three of the dead were shot. Three died due to electric shock. "In the past, elephants were found dead due to electrocution," said Anjana Puri, an officer of the Division Forest Office. . Most of the elephants were killed by electrocution, according to the Division Forest Office, Jhapa. Only one of the elephants killed is dhoi (female). All others are male elephants.

The forest office has data on elephants killed since 2062. In 2062, a 30-year-old male elephant died. Four years later, in 2066, the 3-year-old Chava died. In 2068, a 14-year-old juvenile elephant was found dead. It seems that since 2069, the rate of death of elephants has started to increase rapidly. 3 male elephants died that year. In 2072, the rate of elephants dying again decreased to 1. At that time, an 8-year-old male elephant died. A 10-year-old male elephant was killed in 2074, two males aged 20 and 25 years in 2072, a 5-year-old calf and a 35-year-old adult elephant were killed in 2076. In 2077, a 55-year-old female elephant was killed, and in 2079, three male elephants aged 8, 15 and 20 years were killed.

Most of the elephants are found dead due to electric shock. Farmers have been using electric shocks to protect their households. Most of the elephants are killed by falling into that trap. There have been incidents where some people have also been trapped in Thapeka for elephants. The Forest Act states that if any wild animal is killed, action will be taken according to prevailing laws. However, when the elephant dies, the forest office or related agencies do not pay much attention. Due to this, the morale of elephant killing gangs is even higher, said a conservationist. He added, "If the state takes a little more interest, the number of elephants killed would be reduced."