Foresters recover massive tusk
A tusk weighing 50 kg was found in a plantation at Huvinahallu in Chikmagalur on Thursday night.
The tusk is eight feet, two inch long. It is believed that the tusker, about 70-years old must have died a natural death in the Kamenahalli Reserve Forest area. Deputy Conservator of Forest Venkatesh said the tusk had been separated from the elephant about two months ago. One of the Forest officials who had taken part in the elephant census in January, had taken a photograph of an elephant with a single tusk. It is said that there is similarity between the tusk found and the tusk in the photograph.
Venkatesh ruled out the possibilities of theft and clarified that the tusk was neither removed after killing the animal nor was it buried. “In case the tusk was removed after killing the animal, there would have been injury marks. If someone had buried the tusk, mud particles would have entered the hollows of the tusk,” he said.
During the census, five male and four female tuskers were found in Kamenahalli region and there are all possibilities of this tusk belonging to one of them.
Forest officials recovered the tusk when they raided the plantation based on a tip-off that Murugesh from Huvinahalli was into smuggling. When the officials raided the plantation, Murugesh fled the scene. Five teams have been formed to recover the carcass of the tusker.
Assistant Conservator of Forest Lingappa, staff Vijay Kumar, Bhojaraj and Ravi Kumar were
part of the team.
