Two stray elephants which were said to have strayed away from a forest reserve have been killed by some residents of Tuna in the Bunkpurugu-Nakpanduri district of the North East Region, bringing the number of the animals so far killed since 2001 to five.
The Upper East Regional Wildlife manager, Joseph Binlinla, disclosed that residents cut and took away the meat of the animals before the wildlife officials arrived at the scene.
According to Binlinla, the two elephants were killed on Monday, May 6, adding that two pairs of the tusks were retrieved and the police have begun an investigation to ensure that the perpetrators are brought to justice.
“Investigations are underway. We managed to retrieve the most important part of the elephant, which is the pair of tusks, and so we have the police notified. They will have to carry on the investigations and then see what arrest we can make, because it is criminal to kill an elephant in this country,” he said.
Joseph Binlinla added, “When we got there, we identified two spots where those animals were regretfully gunned down. We didn’t see any part of it. Every piece of meat, every piece of bone was already taken.”
He further stressed that the wildlife department’s management will conduct a sensitisation exercise across the North East Region to educate residents about the incessant killing of elephants and other wild animals in the region.