A male elephant was likely electrocuted in a village near Lalkuan in Nainital district on Monday morning, said forest officials.
RP Joshi, range officer of Gaula range in Terai east forest division, said, “We rushed to the spot after villagers said that an elephant had been electrocuted. We informed the higher authorities so that veterinarians could conduct a post-mortem examination.”
On Monday morning, villagers of Bachachi Dharma spotted an elephant lying in a field. When they approached it, they noticed there was no movement in the pachyderm, while a high tension line was passing through the spot where the elephant was found.
Rukmani Negi, village head of Bachachi Dharma village, said, “The forest officials were told about the incident and they took the elephant’s body into possession. We have requested the electricity department several times to tighten the lines but it has not been done. The elephant’s death is direct dereliction of duties by electricity officials.”
On November 24, a 35-year-old male elephant that was successfully radio-collared in Haridwar forest division in October died due to electrocution. In the second week of November, a female elephant had died in the Lachhiwala forest range of Dehradun due to electrocution.
In July, the carcass of a 25-year-old wild tusker was spotted in the forests of Almora forest division, a day after it was radio-collared.
The Uttarakhand government had earlier this year reported that elephant numbers crossed the 2,000 mark in the state after a recently concluded elephant estimation process. The state reported a 29.9% increase since 2015, and reported a total of 2,026 elephants.
