Let’s talk about the wild things……
What we term as progress of civilization has led to extermination of wildlife. Poaching of animals, including buying and selling of protected animals/their products-the best example here being illegal trade of mink and snake skin for leather designs include crimes against wildlife. Wildlife Forensics has been a much talked about division in the Forensic field during recent years. Killing of wild animals that are protected from hunting by laws is one of the most serious crimes investigated by wildlife forensic scientists.
The main aim is to use scientific techniques to examine, interpret and compare evidence from the crime scene and relate them. The techniques used are same as in human forensics but differ in knowing and distinguishing from a variety of species in cases of animals. The evidence collected to be analyzed here include blood and tissue samples, carcasses, hair, teeth, bones, claws, feathers tusks, hides, fur and materials that were used to kill the animals like poisons, projectiles and weapons.
Wildlife Forensics in India
The Law: Indian Wildlife Protection Act, 1972.
In India, Wildlife Protection Society of India has established a large network of undercover agents and informers to gather intelligence on the growing illegal trade in endangered species. Despite increased awareness and vigilance, WPSI’s Wildlife Crime Database shows a continuing increase in wildlife poaching and smuggling. Analysis of WPSI data reveals an alarming scenario. Although some poaching incidents are one-off events, many are part of large organized networks of poachers, traders and smugglers - all controlled by city-based businessmen who are seldom linked directly to the illicit goods.
Wildlife Institute of India has been receiving wildlife offence cases from various enforcement agencies since 1987. Wildlife Institute of India provided the logistic support as well as the work space for the forensic lab, while the infrastructure has been procured through Wildlife Forensic Project. The forensic laboratory they use became operational in January 1998.
Wildlife DNA forensics
The application of DNA forensic techniques in wildlife crime investigations has provided enforcement officers with new tools for detecting criminal activity. Wildlife DNA Services specializes in the development and application of DNA forensic techniques to investigate wildlife crimes. At Wildlife Institute of India various techniques such as PCR-RFLP, mitochondrial DNA analysis are standardized for identifying species. With the close cooperation of Zoological Parks at New Delhi, Mysore, Chennai and Kanpur, it has been possible to procure sixty three reference tissue samples of forty species which includes 24 mammals and sixteen birds during the reported period.
Research in DNA Forensics:
A novel microsatellite (STR) marker for forensic identification of big cats in India (Anju Singh)
India is the home to five of the eight majestic big cats of the world. The three major big cats namely, lion, tiger, and leopard are listed in the Schedule I of the Indian Wildlife Protection Act, 1972. Apart from the severe loss of the habitat, these are continuously facing the danger of extinction mainly due to poaching and hunting for their body parts, which are being greatly valued by apothecaries marketing traditional Chinese medicines. With the advent of polymerase chain reaction (PCR), DNA-based markers have emerged as major tools in the arena of wildlife forensics. Microsatellites (short tandem repeats, STRs) are markers of choice because of their polymorphic and co-dominant nature. These strictly follow the Mendelian inheritance and are highly reproducible. We have identified a new microsatellite (STR) locus Ple 46, which shows amplification in a species-specific manner (size of STR) in all the members of the family felidae studied here. This PCR-based, non-invasive method opens a new avenue to forensic identification of big cats.
Forensic Expertise in Wildlife:
Experts in the morphology of animals can identify the species, and may be the subspecies of animals found at crime scenes and often determine the age and sex of animals. Careful observations of feathers, skulls and skeletons can give the time since death. Forensic experts in fingerprinting, ballistics, soil, glass, hair examine evidence visually and with microscopic techniques. The need of a pathologist occurs to examine carcasses for wounds to determine what caused the animal to die and to distinguish between natural death and from human killing. Chemists may be asked to identify poisons, medicines and their content. The use of protein and DNA analyses to provide information about the identity of a sample is done by molecular biologists. Genetics can provide useful information about the identification of species and may give environmental information of the animal to the geneticist.
Related Links:
Wildlife Protection Society of India: www.wpsi-india.org
Wildlife Institute of India: www.wii.gov.in
