Carcasses of five elephants with their tusks removed have been found in Kerala's Malayatoor forest, prompting officials to order a probe.
The carcasses were found two days ago. A team of forest officials visited the spot and examined the elephant remains, a senior Forest Division official told PTI today.
Only after a probe will it be known how the tuskers died, the official said, adding that the tusks of all the elephants were found removed.
Meanwhile, V K Venkatachalam of Elephant Heritage Task Force said killing of elephants for ivory had been going on in the state since over a year.
"In the last one-and-half years, around 32 tuskers have been killed and their remains found with tusks removed," he said.
"We had earlier brought this matter to the Wildlife Crime Control Bureau, New Delhi, and also to the Chief Wildlife Warden, Kerala," he said.
Following the complaint, a team of officials from the Chennai unit of the bureau had conducted a detailed probe in January this year, he added.
