Karnataka: Shivamogga foresters pose as buyers, catch trio trying to sell hippo ivory

BENGALURU: In a sting operation in Shivamogga, a forest department squad has seized hippopotamus ivory, including nine teeth, from three men who were attempting to illegally sell them under the assumption that they were elephant tusks.
A probe is under way into what’s probably the first such seizure in the state and how the accused obtained remains of the hippopotamus, which is not seen in the wild in India but is found in zoos and protected forest enclosures.
According to department sources, the operation was carried out for over a week when the three men, later identified as Mujafar, 19, from Bhatkal, Zaheer Khan, 24, from Banavara and Mohammed Danish, 34, from Sorab, were trying to sell nine teeth belonging to an adult hippopotamus. The animal usually has 12 teeth.
Following a tip-off, a Shivamogga forest mobile squad led by deputy conservator of forest Balachandra, under the guise of illegal buyers and dealers in animal remains and ivory, coaxed the men into striking a deal for a steep price. “We communicated with them on WhatsApp and the men started sending videos of the teeth in their possession, quoting a huge price. But they claimed they were elephant tusks, probably unaware they were hippo remains,” an investigating officer told TOI.
On Monday evening, the trio arrived at a location in Sorab to sell the teeth when undercover forest officials rounded them up and seized the ivory.
“It’s clear that this is hippo ivory and the possibility of the seizure including elephant tusks will be established only after examination by a specialised forest team. We are surprised how the trio managed to obtained the hippo remains as the animal is not seen in the wild in India unlike elephant,” another investigating officer said, suspecting a bigger racket.
The suspects confessed that an unidentified woman had given them the animal remains for sale after promising them a handsome share in the proceeds. A car, motorcycle and currency-counting machine were also recovered from them.
The three men were booked under the Wildlife Protection Act 1972, remanded in judicial custody and sent to prison on Tuesday evening. The Shivamogga forest department is also probing the possible involvement of any zoo staff in the racket.