Pygmy elephants? Impossible, says expert
Himalayan News Service
Thiruvananthapuram, Jan 20:
Pygmy elephants in Kerala? Unlikely, says an expert disputing the claims of two people that they sighted such pachyderms in a state forest. Jacob Cheeran, one of India’s foremost elephant experts, doubts the possibility of pygmy elephants being spotted near a wildlife forest at Peppara in the capital district.
The claim was made by wildlife photographer Sali Palode and a local tribesman, Mannan, who said they saw a group of five elephants, all small in size but looking like full-grown adults.
The photograph of one elephant clicked by Palode was published in newspapers here. Palode said these could not be baby elephants because young pachyderms do not move in a herd and are always seen in the company of elders.
But Cheeran said DNA tests were needed to prove such findings. “DNAs can be easily tested through samples of elephant dung because in the dung there is always a presence of mucus.
The collection is not a problem and the testing can be done at the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore,” s-aid Cheeran who is a member of the Project Elephant committee. After seeing the photograph he also said the ear of an adult elephant curves inwards and in the published picture, no such inward curve was visible. According to him, the presence of pygmy elephants had not been scientifically proved in places other than Africa. He said he, too, had heard local tribes in southern Kerala talking about pygmy elephants, which they call ‘kallana’, but till date no one else had seen them. “So I have my doubts and I hope the authorities will do the tests,” said Cheeran.
Scientists trail a myth: Kerala’s pygmy elephant
IISc ecologists to scour forests of Neyar and Agasthyavanam, conduct DNA study of dung
MANOJ K.DAS
Posted online: Friday, March 11, 2005 at 0210 hours IST
KOCHI, MARCH 10: It’s a quest in the literal sense of the word. Ecologists of the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, and officials of the Forest Department are set to trek the state’s forests in search of the ikallaana, the mythical dwarf elephant.
Aimed at conclusively confirming or denying the presence of this species, scientific teams will also undertake DNA mapping of samples of dung collected from areas where tribals claim to have seen the dwarf elephant. A DNA study from dung samples is the first-of-its-kind experiment in solving a decades-old mystery.
Three teams are already scouring the dense forests of Agasthyavanam and Neyyar, hoping to chance upon the kallaana somewhere. Ecologists and veterinarians, however, are strongly divided on the possibility of finding one. ‘‘In all probability, someone would’ve seen an elephant smaller than its peers. But to label it as a dwarf will be too far-fetched. It could be just a variation within a species,’’ said Dr R. Sukumar, IISc professor and chairman of Asian Elephant Special Group.
Another possibility is to mistake a sub-adult male in a herd as a dwarf elephant. Sometimes, tuskers in their teens get together and play with a herd. ‘‘I think somebody has mistook one such for the mythical kallaana. Anyway, the present study will scientifically certify whether it’s a myth or reality,’’ Sukumar said.
The teams have been asked to collect dung samples if they encounter a kallaana. ‘‘Even otherwise, samples will be collected to look for genetic proof to establish the presence of a different species. These samples will be studied at IISc,’’ sources said. While such studies usually bank on tissue or blood samples, sources said, dung sampling was ‘‘easy and reliable’’.
The IISc has already completed a comprehensive study to establish that elephants in the forests of Tamil Nadu and Kerala belong to two distinctive groups even while sharing the same genetical structure. The institute has also initiated a satellite-based telemetry study of elephants in the north-east
Where are the tiny jumbos?
Press Trust of India
Thiruvananthapuram, May 8, 2005
The quest for 'dwarf' elephants, whose existence is a long-held belief of tribals of Agasthya biosphere near here, seems to be proving futile after a recent exploration by forest department failed to come across any evidence of the presence of such creature.
The search for the smaller type of pachyderm — Kallana as tribals call them — received a renewed interest after a wildlife photographer claimed to have seen a herd of them during a trek a few months back. Saly Palode had come out with a picture of a five feet high cow elephant with all the features of an adult and brought it to the notice of wildlife authorities.
"We have made enquiries based on reports. So far, we have not come across any evidence to establish the existence of that type of an elephant," chief conservator of forests (wildlife), Gopinathan, said.
Saly, however, is not ready to accept the official version asserting what he had seen and snapped was a truly grown up elephant and not malformed creature as the officials claim.
"It was part of a herd of three. They had all the features of adult elephants, depressions on their head, big flapping ears and tuskes," he said, adding that he had been tipped-off about the appearance of herd on the slopes of the Western Ghats by the tribals. "The herd had three elephants. One of them had died a few days back near a tribal settlement. The officials were informed of the casualty. Overruling the tribals' claim that it was a dwarf, they burnt the carcass after rushing through the post-mortem," he said.
"Couldn't they have preserved the carcass for a detailed scientific examination since it has been a long-held claim of the tribals that the smaller types of elephants make occasional appearance in the area?" he said. It was after this incident that Saly set off to trace the three remaining elephants and came across them after a long patient wait of several days, he claimed.
