Environmental Engineering Reference
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died, while ten were rescued by the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW)/Wildlife Trust of
India run Centre for Wildlife Rehabilitation and Conservation (CWRC) in Sivasagar, Assam.
A similar incident was reported in the Mudumalai wildlife sanctuary in Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve
(Report 2001). A hyena, several white-backed vultures and some crows were killed by secondary
poisoning (though the poison itself was not identifi ed).
There are also instances where large carnivores, which also scavenge, fall victim to second-
ary poisoning. Wild boars are the most common targets for primary poisoning. They are listed in
Schedule III of the Wildlife Protection Act 1972, and a restriction imposed on hunting the species
has led to an outburst in their population. They are found in large numbers in most forest habitats,
and can cause extensive damage to crops such as banana, potato and carrot, which can all be planted
in proximity to the forest. In retaliation, farmers often place poison or even explosives in bananas,
potatoes or other edibles. The animals then succumb to poisoning (or starve, having had their jaws
broken). A news magazine has reported that 'fl our balls' (explosives wrapped in fl our and connected
to a crude detonator) are bitten by the boar, explode, and then cause severe damage to the jaw
(Report 2002). Boars that die due to poisoning become a source of secondary poisoning for other
scavengers, including large carnivores.
In January 2008, a male tiger was found dead (refer to Figure 4.5), along with three wild boar
and a mongoose (a small carnivore, family
Herpestidae
) in a tea plantation in Devarshola, Nilgiris
Biosphere Reserve (Kalaivanan, Venkataramanan, Sreekumar et al. 2010). The boar and mongoose
stomachs contained plantain and banana tubers, while that of the tiger contained about fi ve kilograms
of undigested boar fl esh. Circumstantial evidence (an empty cover for phorate 10% granules), was
recovered adjacent to the boar carcasses. A composite sample (about 250 grams) containing stomach,
intestinal loop with contents and portions of liver, tested positive for an OPC (phorate) by GC/MS. The
sample was also tested for carbofuran, but none was detected. Evidence suggested that the boars had
been baited with phorate-laced plantain and secondary poisoning of the tiger had occurred through
ingestion of boar carcass(es). A similar incident occurred in June 2009 in Mudumalai Tiger Reserve,
also in the Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve. Here, phorate was detected in wild boar fl esh found in the
stomach of a black panther (melanistic variant of
P. Pardus;
Kalaivanan, Venkataramanan, Sarkan
et al. 2010).
Arora (2003) reviewed several cases of wildlife poisoning in India and the etiology of carbofuran
was not implicated in any of them. Poisoning was due to chlorinated hydrocarbons in leopard, endo-
sulfan and malathion in a tigress, HCN in another tiger and an elephant, aconite (a herbal poison) and
endosulfan in rhinos, zinc phosphide in a lion and demecron in an elephant.
Arora (2008) has also described chlorinated hydrocarbon poisoning in three leopard cats
(
Prionailurus bengalensis
) at the Zoological Gardens in Guwahati, Assam, as well as in 50 wild
jackals (
Canis
sp.) in Lakhimpur, Uttar Pradesh. Also, zinc phosphide poisoning was reported in a
tiger at Mysore Zoo, Karnataka and deaths of three elephants at Sonitpur, Assam due to malicious
'carbamate insecticide' poisoning.
A news report in the
Times of India
(dated 27 June 2007) reported that a leopard died from sus-
pected poisoning in Mathipalayam near Coimbatore (Report 2007). A laced cow carcass was report-
edly used as bait. In India, carnivores tend to be poisoned after preying on livestock, and the most
common bait is via carcasses laced with poison. Elephants are poisoned via food items like bananas,
electuaries (where the compound is mixed with a sweetener), pumpkins or arrack (a locally brewed
alcohol), all of which they relish. Birds tend to be exposed to seeds laced with pesticides.
As noted from the previously discussed incidents, the mode of poisoning and the bait used tend
to differ according to the species being targeted. The popularity of a compound as a poison among
local people is a major factor in determining whether it is used for this purpose. In India, it seems
that carbofuran is not as popular as some of the other compounds mentioned here (such as OPCs).
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