Source: Indo-Asian News Service
Source: India Today
Source: New Delhi Television, Ltd.
An alarming number of Indian elephants have died this month by electrocution, including in Tamil Nadu and Odisha. The incidents were caused by a variety of electric sources.
Dharmapuri Elephant Death
Three female elephants were killed on March 7 by an illegal electric fence surrounding a farm in the Kali Kotta Gounder village in Dharmapuri, Tamil Nadu. The farm owner was arrested and charged for having an illegal fence.
Another elephant was killed by a stray high tension electric wire in the Dharmapuri district of Tamil Nadu on March 18, just days after the Keonjhar incident. The wire touched the male elephant on the head, killing him instantly. Twitter users, recognizing the incident could have been avoided, demanded the height of electric wires to be raised.
Odisha Elephant Death
In the forest of the Keonjhar district of Odisha, a male elephant was also killed by electrocution just days after the stray wire incident in Dharmapuri. This elephant came in contact with a stray live electric wire hanging from a pole, as he was attempting to eat branches from a tree.
According to a Division Forest Officer interviewed for the story, the electric pole was weak and should have been repaired before the incident took place. The DFO said electricity officials should be criminally charged for the death of the elephant.
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