More on Osama the Elephant...
...it seems I may have spoken to soon when I tried to link the sad hunt for the wild rogue elephant named for Osama bin Laden to that described in the book 'To the Elephants' Graveyard" by Tarquin Hall.
Maybe times have indeed changed in Assam driven by the increased regularity of elephant human conflict and the imposition of deadlines.
That said there has been nothing new on this story for a week or so, so perhaps we'll never know whether the right elephant was hunted?
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Maybe times have indeed changed in Assam driven by the increased regularity of elephant human conflict and the imposition of deadlines.
That said there has been nothing new on this story for a week or so, so perhaps we'll never know whether the right elephant was hunted?
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Asom conservationists criticise officials for killing elephant (India)
Daily India
December 22, 2006
The forest officials resorted to the extreme step after an elephant named 'Osama bin Laden' ran amok, killing 27 people. However, World Wildlife Fund (WWF) officials said 'Osama' was not the actual one who created the havoc, but a look-a-like.
"We always suspect this. We collected evidence, went to the spot and interviewed local people. They said that this is not the actual one who created havoc. And surprisingly very next night another person was killed by an elephant in the nearby village," said Anupam Sharma, a representative of the WWF.
Activists said forest officials hurriedly buried the elephant without verifying the foot prints, dimensions and other identifying marks that were the same as Osama's.
Despite efforts by local authorities to hunt him down, Osama had evaded them moving from place to place and hiding in forests.
The hunt for Osama, believed to have been between 45 and 50 years old, ended last week when the Asom assembly ordered a shoot-to-kill directive to the forest officials and a deadline to hunt the beast down by December 31.
Animal rights activists fear that there will now be serious consequence, with the herd of elephants to which Osama belonged likely to take revenge and destroy more villages and people in the area.
With forest cover dwindling in the north-eastern parts of the country, elephants and other animals regularly come out of their natural habitat in search of food, triggering conflict with locals.
The jungles in the region are home to about 7,500 elephants, half the country's total elephant population.
India has an estimated 30,000 wild and captive elephants, about half of whom live in the isolated northeast bound by Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, Myanmar and Nepal.
Article at the following link:
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Melissa Groo
Save the Elephants News Service Researcher
For further information on elephants please see Save the Elephants' web site
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This Save the Elephants project is supported by the International Elephant Foundation.
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Disclaimer:
Please note that we cannot guarantee the accuracy of any news story. In addition, we do not endorse any of the views expressed therein. We simply try to represent fairly what is in the media on elephants. If a reader finds inaccuracies in an article, we are happy to circulate corrections, if these can be verified.
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...think this is a different elephant but a similar name, so perhaps our Indian readers can tell us?
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Tiger urine to keep away wild elephants (India)
Earth Times
28 December 2007
Ranchi, Dec 28 - The problem: pachyderms wandering into Jharkhand villages attracted by the scent of an intoxicating brew and then going on the rampage. The solution? Tiger urine!
The forest department is now urging villagers to store tiger urine in the hope that it will keep marauding elephants away.
'Elephants usually do not venture into areas where tigers reside. The pungent smell of the urine will deter the jumbos from entering the villages,' said Paritosh Upadhyay, district forest officer.
Finding their habitat encroached upon by humans and sometimes attracted by the smell of the intoxicating mahua drink, elephants foray into villages and damage standing crops, houses and trample people to death on a regular basis.
Forest officials have asked villagers not to store mahua.
At least 17 people have died of elephant attacks in the Silli block of Ranchi district this year.
Fear-stricken villagers even went to the Birsa Munda Zoological Park, Ranchi, to collect tiger urine.
'We requested the zoo authorities to give tiger urine but they refused,' said Manki Mahto, a resident of Silli block where an elephant christened Laden has wreaked havoc.
The fear of Laden has led to a curfew-like situation in the villages. Most people do not venture out of their homes after noon for fear of being attacked by it.
Forest department sources said 400 people were killed in elephant attacks in the state in the last six years while 82 jumbos too have died.
In Jharkhand, the elephant population has declined to 622 from 772 in the current census conducted in May this year. In confrontation with human beings, nearly 10 elephants have died in the state. Poaching is the other reason for their declining population.
Article at the following link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/165390.html
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A terror monger elephant dies in Ranchi
Thaindian.com
January 27th, 2008
Gola Block (Jharkhand), Jan 27 (ANI): A killer elephant that had frequently been on a rampage in two villages of Ranchi district was found dead on Saturday.
The elephant’s body was found on the borders of Purabdih and Nausadih villages.
Villagers of the terror-stricken area had named the elephant as “Laden”.
Villagers, who had stopped going out of their homes due to the elephants terror, said they were not happy with its death.
“We are not happy with the death of this elephant. We want that they should be relocated to safer places so that the elephants can move and live freely in their own space,” said Shajada Anwar, a villager.
The Forest Department of the state has deployed a team to take necessary actions in the area.
“It happens that when an elephant dies, others keep coming to that spot for three-four days. We have deployed our team with all necessary resources as a precautionary measure,” Divisional Forest Officer of Ramgarh, S.C.Roy said.
According to national elephant census of 2005, there were 25,000 to 28,000 elephants in the country.
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Killer elephant "Osama" shot dead in Jharkhand (India)
Reuters
May 31, 2008
PATNA, India (Reuters) - An elephant named "Osama bin Laden" that has killed more than 11 people and injured dozens over the past few months was shot dead in Jharkhand, officials said on Saturday.
The wild male elephant, had been terrorising villagers in two states, destroying their crops and homes.
Forest officials and a police team tracked down the rogue jumbo in Jharkhand late on Friday, where it was shot dead, Ravi Ranjan, a senior government official said.
"Yes, Osama has finally been killed and it took us 20 bullets to silence him," Ranjan told Reuters from Jharkhand on Saturday.
Hundreds of villagers gathered on Saturday to catch a glimpse of the dead elephant.
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