Summary:
Thiruvananthapuram: Kerala has become the first state in the country to have prepared a DNA database of the entire population of its captive elephants.The initiative is expected to play a significant role in captive wildlife management and come in handy in wildlife crime investigations. The department is now planning to develop a mobile app to make use of the database.DNA fingerprints of the jumbos were prepared using blood samples. The database can be used to settle disputes on identity, and as microsatellite markers to detect any mutation or disease in the animals.The state forest department carried out DNA profiling of all 519 captive elephants registered with it, with the technical support of Thiruvananthapuram-based Rajiv Gandhi Centre for Biotechnology (RGCB). The report was handed over to head of forest force (HoFF) and chief wildlife warden P K Kesavan by RGCB director M Radhakrishna Pillai at a function held here on Tuesday. The department, from now on, will provide identity cards featuring QR code with DNA details along with ownership certificates to owners of the captive elephants.Though the department had issued ownership and microchip certificates to owners, difficulty in reading microchips and forged certificates continued to create hurdles in probing offences related to illegal transfer of jumbos with commercial interest, officials pointed out.Union ministry of environment, forest and climate change sanctioned Rs 10 lakh under the centrally-sponsored scheme ‘Project Elephant’ for the initiative..