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Rogue elephant shot dead in Assam tea garden
A rogue wild elephant that was wreaking havoc in Assam, was yesterday shot dead on state orders.
- IANS
- Published: 00:00 December 17, 2006
Guwahati: A rogue wild elephant that was wreaking havoc in Assam, was yesterday shot dead on state orders.
A wildlife official said the 10-foot-tall tusk-less male elephant, whom local people have been calling "Laden", was killed by a hunter at the Behali tea plantation in Sonitpur district, 240km north of Assam's main city of Guwahati.
"Licensed hunter Dipen Ram Phukan and a team of forest rangers shot dead Laden as the elephant was trying to enter a human settlement area," wildlife warden Chandan Bora told IANS by telephone.
"Local villagers identified the elephant as Laden and our team verified the identity before shooting," he added.
The elephant, named Laden after "global terrorist" Osama Bin Laden, was proclaimed a rogue in July and authorities ordered its killing on December 31.
"Laden was responsible for killing at least 14 people in and around the area where he was shot dead," Bora said. On Wednesday, the elephant had killed a woman near a reserved forest area.
Earlier attempts
"Laden was a terror for the people. Two earlier attempts to kill the elephant had failed as Laden always managed to evade our forest teams," he added. "The killing of the rampaging elephant has come as a big relief for the locals."
In Assam, depredation by wild elephants is common. The last time an elephant was declared a rogue and killed by a licensed hunter was in 2004. During the past fortnight, herds of wild elephants have been terrorising several parts of Assam, especially in villages where tribals brew rice beer.
Experts say wild elephants have been moving out of the jungles in search of food with more and more people encroaching upon animal corridors.
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