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Wildlife SOS Faces Fresh Scrutiny Over Alleged Elephant Smuggling
An investigation into alleged leopard poaching has brought new attention to Wildlife SOS.
Records from another case mention an elephant that was allegedly brought from Nepal and sold in India.
The records also mention a person connected to Wildlife SOS and a message referring to “Kartick sir.”
Wildlife SOS officials said they did not know about the messages.
The organization said Suraj Pal stopped working there by 2016, although its website later featured him as an elephant keeper.
Two Wildlife SOS employees are also being investigated over alleged leopard poaching.
Some wildlife investigators said they have previously questioned the organization’s methods.
The claims remain allegations, and the people arrested in the ivory case are out on bail while their trial is pending.
Wildlife Crime Control Bureau records allegedly link an elephant smuggled from Nepal to Wildlife SOS personnel.
Investigators said the elephant was sold through intermediaries for Rs 40 lakh and then Rs 70 lakh.
Wildlife SOS denied knowledge of the cited chats and said Suraj Pal left the organization by 2016.
Two Wildlife SOS employees are separately accused in a Madhya Pradesh leopard-poaching investigation.
The allegations have renewed questions from investigators about Wildlife SOS’s rescue and anti-poaching methods.
- Who
- Wildlife SOS, its CEO Kartick Satyanarayan, director of conservation Baiju Raj, former employee Suraj Pal, and people accused in related wildlife-crime cases.
- What
- Records have raised allegations that Wildlife SOS personnel may be linked to the purchase of an elephant allegedly smuggled from Nepal, amid a separate leopard-poaching probe.
- Where
- The alleged elephant route ran from Nepal through Kushinagar in Uttar Pradesh; related investigations involve Agra, Mathura, Jaipur, and Madhya Pradesh.
- When
- The alleged elephant transfer occurred during the first Covid lockdown in 2020; the ivory arrests took place on March 13, 2022, and the leopard arrests occurred last month according to the article.
- Why
- The allegations surfaced because interrogation records and phone chats in an ivory case referred to “Suraj Pal’s elephant” and a contact associated with Wildlife SOS.
Investigators’ Allegations
Wildlife SOS Responses
Links to the alleged elephant trade
Investigators’ Allegations
WCCB records refer to “Suraj Pal’s elephant,” while the cited phone number was allegedly used by Wildlife SOS director Baiju Raj and messages referred to keeping “Kartick sir” informed.
Wildlife SOS Responses
Baiju Raj said he did not know the accused Nazuddin Khan and denied knowledge of the purported chats. Kartick Satyanarayan said he could not verify or comment on them and called the narrative concocted.
Suraj Pal’s connection to Wildlife SOS
Investigators’ Allegations
The article says Pal worked as an elephant keeper at Wildlife SOS and that its website, dated August 21, 2025, featured him in that role.
Wildlife SOS Responses
Wildlife SOS said Pal was associated with it only until 2016, when his employment was terminated, and said it could not comment on activities attributed to him afterward.
Rescue and anti-poaching methods
Investigators’ Allegations
Wildlife-crime investigators said they had long questioned the NGO’s methods and alleged that poachers may have collected bear cubs for it; they also raised questions about a 2023 tiger- and leopard-parts seizure.
Wildlife SOS Responses
The article reports that Wildlife SOS claimed credit for assisting the 2023 seizure and the later sentencing of poachers, while the organization’s employees’ alleged involvement remains part of ongoing scrutiny.
Key facts
- Organizations named
- Wildlife SOS and the Wildlife Crime Control Bureau
- Elephant allegation
- A 35-40-year-old female elephant was allegedly smuggled through the Hathiheva border from Nepal during the first Covid lockdown in 2020.
- Reported sale prices
- Investigators recorded alleged sales of Rs 40 lakh and Rs 70 lakh.
- Ivory seizure
- Approximately 30 kg of ivory was seized in Jaipur on March 13, 2022.
- Ivory-case arrests
- Nazuddin Khan, Gulam Khan, and Nashir Ali were arrested and are out on bail; the trial is pending.
- Leopard-poaching probe
- Two Wildlife SOS employees, Bhagwan Singh alias Salim and Wasim, were arrested over alleged poaching of 10 leopards.
- Satyanarayan proceedings
- Kartick Satyanarayan reportedly missed three appearances before investigators; the Supreme Court granted him interim protection and directed him to appear on September 28.
Quotes
Kartick Satyanarayan
CEO of Wildlife SOS
“This appears to be a concocted narrative being circulated by individuals with mischievous and personal vendetta, having vested interests.”
indianexpress.com
“I have no knowledge of the purported chat records. Therefore, I am unable to verify, assess, or comment on the matter.”
indianexpress.com
Sources
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