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In a first such instance in the State, the Wildlife Wing authorities on Sunday de-tusked a male elephant from Dhenkanal Forest Division in a bid to curb its aggressive instincts. The jumbo is said to be responsible for killing close to 40 persons in the last seven years.
A seven-day tracking exercise culminated in zeroing in on the pachyderm which had sustained injuries and developed abscess as well as haematoma. A team of over 30 members of elephant forest officers, medical squad and trackers mounted an attempt to sight the elephant on Saturday and managed to carry out the task on Sunday afternoon.
Chief Wildlife Warden Sidhanta Das said, the de-tusking was possible after three doses of tranquilisers. “During sighting, the elephant was found to be limping in the forests. It needed immediate medical intervention lest it could have developed serious infection,” he said. On Sunday, it was tranquilised in the dense forest of Kamaskhyanagar by Dr Indramani Nath of Odisha University if Agriculture and Technology (OUAT).
In male elephants, tusks act as a secondary sexual character and bigger their size, more dominant become the jumbos in a group. Tusks also give them the aura of alpha males and help lure females. Trimmed tusks lead to reduced aggression as males lose that ‘alpha’ quality. Similarly, losing ability to dig tuber and carry load makes them less aggressive. Das said, the Wildlife Wing had consulted experts about the subject before taking the decision.