KALPETTA: The carcas of a female elephant was found near a home in farmland in the Chethalayam Range of the South Wayanad forest division at Pulpally, here, on Tuesday. House owner Melekap Narayanan said the animal was found dead in the morning. A team of forest officials headed by North Wayanad divisional forest officer Narendranath Veloori and South Wayanad DFO Abdul Aziz among others visited the spot.
Farmers say the animal was among the herd which has been roaming in the area causing damages to the agriculture. A team of veterinarians headed by Dr V.I. Jijimon conducted the postmortem. This is the second killing of an elephant by shooting in Wayanad in the last two months. Another female elephant was shot dead at ‘4th Mile’ near the office of the Wayanad wildlife warden on May 30.
Mr Aziz said it was believed to be deliberate killing. “Three bullets were recovered from the head of the 12-year-old animal,” the DFO told DC. Farmers of the locality had taken out a protest march on the office of the Chethalayam range officer against widespread destruction of crops in the region.
