SIT finds tusks missing in 8 of 14 Kerala elephants
A Special Investigation Team (SIT) found that eight out of 14 wild elephants that died in Kerala's Malayattoor and Vazhachal forests last August were missing their ivory or tusks.
Three male elephants had no ivory, and five females were without tusks. Only four elephants still had them.
Forensic checks show no forced removal
While the missing ivory raised suspicions of poaching, forensic checks showed no signs of forced removal.
In some cases, the carcasses were too decomposed to tell if they were male or female.
Kerala's Chief Wildlife Warden P. Pugazhendi is pressing for answers on why a male elephant's tusks were not recovered, while the SIT recommended removing tusks for safekeeping and for carcass disposal, options like deep burial or natural scavenging.
Experts are flagging ecological and privacy concerns over the use of drones for wildlife monitoring.