Sad day for wildlife as jumbos electrocuted; gaur dies in pit in TN

There are many guidelines to keep the animals the animals from straying out of the habitats, put seldom they are adhered to. For instance, a male Indian Gaur from the Mannapparai forest range of the district was found dead by the locals near Puthanatham on Friday morning after it got trapped in a narrow pit dug up to lay cables.

The Thuvarankurichi forest range is said to have a high population of Indian Guars which often stray into the Puthanatham and Karupparettiyappati locality as they are situated close to the forest range.

On Thursday night, a male Indian Guar is said to have strayed into Pullayarkovilpatty village in Puthanatham vicinity. Recently, a pit was dug up in the locality for installing private cables. The guar is said to have accidentally slipped into the pit which was so narrow that the animal could not even move an inch to breathe.

The guar reportedly succumbed inside the pit. It was noticed by the villagers much later. Based on the alert, forest personnel from Manapparai rushed to the spot and with the help of heavy machinery, removed the carcass of the dead Guar on Friday morning. The deceased animal was later moved to Karupparettiyappati locality where an autopsy was performed.

Two sub adult elephants, including a tusker, were electrocuted after they accidentally came in contract with a power line at Chermully village near Gudalur in The Nilgiris on Thursday night. Forest department officials said that the incident took place in the Srimadurai beat in Gudalur Forest Division.

District Forest Officer (DFO) for Gudalur Forest Division PK Dileep said that the elephants were part of a herd of seven that was feasting on a piece of private agricultural land on Thursday night. They were passing through areca palm cultivations, when one of the jumbos uprooted a tree, which came in contact with a live wire that was a few feet above the trees.

The electric cable snapped and fell on the metal fence put up by the owner of the land. Two elephants which came in contact with the fence were electrocuted. Officials and field staff from the Forest Department and TANGEDCO who collected evidences said that the elephant that lifted the tree survived.

This incident came to light on Friday morning when the villagers spotted the restless herd of five trying to help the dead jumbos get on their feet. Forest department personnel confirmed that the electrocuted animals were a male and a female, 10-20 years old.

It took time for the personnel to get close to the carcasses as the agitated herd refused to leave and also charged at the forest department personnel. Ultimately, fireworks were lit to chase away the herd. But it did not leave the area immediately. Instead they watched the activities of the humans from a distance.

Forest Veterinarian E Vijayaraghavan performed an autopsy on the two carcasses in the presence of forest officials and representatives of wildlife NGOs. Vital organs were retrieved for forensic analysis, following which the carcasses were buried.

Forest officials said that it was an accident. The department was monitoring the movement of the herd. “Such animals could turn violent and damage life and property. Therefore, there is a need to monitor them,” explained the officials. This is the second major incident of jumbo electrocution in Tamil Nadu claiming lives of two or more pachyderms in the state, in the recent years.