Capturing wild pachyderms below five feet tall, or pregnant or nursing cow elephants is banned under the Indian Wildlife Protection Act of 1972 unless permitted by the Ministry of Forest and Environment. We have formed several anti-depredation squads with the help of local villagers to drive away elephant herds. But we know that is only a mild deterrent as the animals are very clever nowadays. Meanwhile, a five ton wild cow elephant was de-tusked by experts in Sonitpur district earlier this week following a tip off by villagers that a gang of poachers was preparing to kill it for its ivory. The ivory trade, though banned in India, is a flourishing business with organized poacher gangs killing elephants for their tusks.
Ivory remains a much-fancied decorative item in parts of the Middle East and Far East.
A kilogram of elephant tusk sells for around Rs.15,000 in the international market. A full-grown tusker will have tusks weighing about 8 to 10 kg on an average. The Divide Can astrologers correctly predict earthquakes. T.K. Dutta and Ajai Bhambi argue it out.