Agra: An RTI query made with the Wildlife Crime Control Bureau (WCCB), under the ministry of environment and forests, has revealed that 429 elephants had been killed in different states and Union territories of the country in last 10 years (2008 to 2018). In the same duration, a total of 624 poachers were arrested. The RTI query made by Noida-based environmental activist Ranjan Tomar has revealed that Kerala reported maximum jumbos casualties (136), followed by West Bengal (48), Karnataka (46) and Tamil Nadu (44). In North India, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand reported 21 jumbo killings each during the period.In 2008, 53 elephants were killed in the country, but the number came down to only five in 2018, all five in Assam, according to the data provided by the WCCB.The bureau is a statutory body formed to combat organised wildlife crime in the country.Speaking with TOI, Tomar said, “I will write to the minister of environment, forests and climate change (MoEFCC) Harsh Vardhan to ensure safety of elephants. The population of elephants is on decrease in the country. This is a very sensitive matter.”According to the 2017 census report, released by the MoEFCC, the population estimation of Asian elephant in India was around 27,312. This was around 10% less as compared to last census estimate in 2012 (around 30,000).Tomar said that in the RTI reply, WCCB has only provided information about the number of elephants killed which is 429 and 624 poachers arrested. “No information on conviction in elephants poaching cases has been provided,” he added.According to environment ministry data, with increasing human-wildlife conflict, at least 80 elephants are killed every year in India on an average. Besides poaching, the main reasons include electrocution, train accidents and poisoning.Surendra Singh, dean faculty of life sciences at Agra’s Dr Bhimrao Ambedkar University, said, “The elephant which is the largest land mammal plays a number of vital roles in its ecosystem, which cannot be replicated by any other species. Elephants in dry regions are able to smell water close to the surface of the ground and use their tusks to dig small waterholes. Other animals sometimes have to rely on these water holes. The large bodies of elephants help create trails through wooded areas that might otherwise be impassable. Elephant dung also has many natural applications, from spreading plant seeds to offering nutrition to baboons and insects. The scarab beetle actually uses large balls of elephant waste to lay their eggs inside it.”

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