Coimbatore: Officials from the Anamalai Tiger Reserve (ATR) have intensified efforts to trace the accused behind a suspected elephant poaching incident. An elephant tusk was found abandoned in the Ayirangal forest beat near Sethumadai, within the Pollachi forest range, on June 2.Based on a tip-off from tribal residents, a team including a forester and a forest guard from ATR range visited the location and retrieved the tusk from thick bushes. A sample of the tusk was forwarded to the Advanced Institute for Wildlife Conservation (AIWC) for testing, while the rest of the tusk was subsequently submitted to the Pollachi Magistrate Court in line with standard procedure.Forest officials suspect poachers may be involved because only one tusk has been found so far, and the elephant’s carcass and the other tusk have not been located yet. “Preliminary investigation suggests that the tusk appears to be old. We are also trying to ascertain why it was hidden in the bushes,” a senior ATR official said.
