Raigarh: An elephant was allegedly electrocuted on a farm near a village in Raigarh on Sunday. The carcass of the male elephant was found near Medarmar village at around 4 am. It is being suspected that the elephant died due to electrocution. Investigations are underway, forest officials said.
The male elephant, aged 40-45 years had its tusks intact, officials said. The elephant's body has been sent for post-mortem.
"Prima facie, it seems that the elephant got electrocuted due to the electric fences at the farm. The animal had entered the farm of one Dev Singh Rathiya. The exact cause of death will be ascertained after getting the post-mortem report," Abhishek Jogawat, forest officer in Dharamjaigarh Division said.
According to the data available with the forest department, more than 50 elephants have died in Chhattisgarh in the last four years. Most of these deaths have been recorded in Surguja, Korba, Balrampur, Surajpur, Raigarh, Jashpur and Korea districts of Chhattisgarh. The forest department has not yet released the district-wise figures of elephant deaths.
In view of a decrease in the forested areas in the last few years, elephants often stray into residential areas and fields leading to instances of elephant-human conflicts. Work is underway to come up with the Lemru Elephant Project in the state. Under this project, a new habitat will be created for elephants.
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The incident comes four days after two tuskers were electrocuted in Satkosia Tiger Reserve. The carcasses of the two elephants were found in Tarabha forest. The elephants died due to electrocution from live wires that were set up by poachers.
