Wild elephant electrocuted to death in Coimbatore

In the last 15 days, five elephants have died in Tamil Nadu, of which one was electrocuted to death on Saturday morning.

Coimbatore: A male wild elephant was electrocuted after an electric pole fell on it near Coimbatore this morning. The animal had walked out of Thadagam forest of Periyanaikanpalayam forest reserve last night and was wandering in the Poochyur area. After getting information, the forest department officials tried to drive it away into the forest area.

When the elephant went near the Poochyur Kuruvamma temple, it crashed into an electric pole on its way. The pole fell on the elephant, which died after being electrocuted. Following this, the forest department officials immediately informed the electricity board and the power supply was snapped off.

The forest department officials said that the place where the elephant died is a privately-owned barren land that is about one kilometer away from the forest area. They said a detailed investigation is being conducted in this regard. Arrangements are also being made for conducting the elephant's postmortem. The increasing deaths of elephants in Tamil Nadu has raised concern among environmentalists

The Western Ghats forest in Coimbatore district is a haven for wild animals including wild elephants and wild cows. Wild elephants usually enter the villages at night in search of food and water. The forest department is monitoring the movement of elephants entering villages and has engaged teams to drive away the animals into the forest area.

Earlier, one male and two female elephants were electrocuted in Marahandahalli in Dharmapurin district. In another case in Dharmapuri, an elephant was killed after getting an electric shock. This is the fifth elephant death in Tamil Nadu in the last 15 days.