Conservationists call for better planning of power infrastructure after death of fourth giant flying squirrel from electrocution in the Nilgiris

Flying squirrels electrocuted in Udhagamandalam, TN; 4 deaths in recent months. Power lines near forests pose risk to wildlife. Conservationists urge govt to move power lines underground in ecologically-sensitive areas to reduce impacts on wildlife. #FlyingSquirrels #Electrocution #Udhagamandalam #TN #PowerLines #Wildlife #Conservationists #Underground #EcologicallySensitive #GreatIndianBustard #BiodiversityHotspot #Government #ReduceImpacts

A fourth Indian giant flying squirrel (Petaurasia philippensis), died of electrocution in recent months within Udhagamandalam town on Friday morning.

The rarely spotted animal, due to being a nocturnal species, is usually seen in plantations and Shola forests in the Upper Nilgiris, and is far more difficult to spot than its counterpart, the Malabar giant squirrel in the Nilgiris.

On Friday, local residents noticed the carcass of the animal near Hill Bunk in Udhagamandalam and informed the Forest Department, who rushed to the spot and took possession of the carcass of the animal.

A postmortem was conducted on the remains of the animal. Local residents and Forest Department staff said this was the fourth death of a squirrel due to electrocution in Udhagamandalam over the last few months. Flying squirrels were especially prone to electrocution deaths due to the animals gliding into power lines running close to reserve forests and wooded areas.

Local conservationists said the deaths highlight the impacts of power infrastructure on wildlife in biodiverse areas. “Only when larger animals such as elephants or leopards get ensnared in infrastructure for the electricity grid does it make for news. However, smaller animal species are often more affected by such infrastructure, including flying squirrels and flying foxes,” said a Nilgiris-based conservationist. He added, power lines should be fixed at suitable distances away from wooded or forest areas, or should be moved underground to have minimal impacts on wildlife.

“There have been directions to move power lines underground in ecologically-sensitive areas such as the Great Indian Bustard habitats. Seeing that over-ground, power infrastructure continues to pose a risk to elephants, tigers and small mammals in the Nilgiris, a biodiversity hotspot, the government should consider such efforts here as well,” said the conservationist.