THE elephant's tail is emerging as a new money-spinner—and a new cause of concern for conservationists. Unscrupulous poachers, running out of tuskers, are eye-ing the rear end of the animal to make a killing. Says Pramod Kant, a Tamil Nadu forest officer: "Sharp, spiky hairs from an elephant's tail are increasingly being used by the devout and superstitious as talismans and amulets to bring them luck."
Each strand of hair can fetch between Rs 200 and Rs 600, depending on its length and texture. With a tail comprising between 300 and 500 strands, an elephant can fetch above Rs 50,000, almost what a pair of tusks from a young elephant gets. With gargantuan tuskers in the 50-year range decreasing, forest officials feel that the demand for elephant hair and the new fad in the Gulf for small tusks could result in the demise of younger elephants. Says Karnataka officer Rajanna: "Poachers who used to kill 40-year-old tuskers are now targeting five and six-year-olds. Small tusks are easy to smuggle and display."
The tusks and hair allegedly make their way out via Kerala. Although officials of the three states are concerned and are adequately empowered to bring culprits to book, they have to bank on the police to do the job as they are short of arms, ammunition, staff, equipment and time. Without visible benefits for them, cops take inter-state cases easy. "There's no shortage of money, just direction," says wildlife researcher Ullas Karanth.
