Elephant dies of electrocution in Gudalur forest range, seventh such death in the Nilgiris since 2016

Elephant electrocuted in Gudalur Forest Range; 7th such incident since 2016. Postmortem to be conducted; conservationists urge govt to ensure power lines are 14ft above ground & install braided cables in elephant habitats.

A male elephant died of electrocution in Puliyampara, in the Devarshola section of the Gudalur Forest Range on Friday (November 17, 2023) morning.

The tusker, whose age is yet to be ascertained is said to have pushed a tree it was eating from, onto a Tamil Nadu Electricity Board power line running near the tree. The incident took place on a plot of agricultural land.

Conservator of Forests (Nilgiris), D. Venkatesh, said that a postmortem is to be conducted by veterinary assistant surgeon, Rajesh Kumar, from the Theppakadu Elephant Camp. He also said that the District Forest Officer (Gudalur division), Kommu Omkaram is conducting a detailed field inspection at the scene of the incident.

The elephant’s death is the latest in a series of incidents involving power lines in the Gudalur  and Nilgiris forest divisions and the Mudumalai Tiger Reserve . Conservationists said that this was the seventh elephant that had died from coming into contact with a power line in the Gudalur landscape since 2016. In 2022, two elephants were killed when they came into contact with low-hanging electricity lines in separate incidents, while another elephant died in Coonoor.

In 2020, eight animals, including an elephant, four wild boars, two mongoose and a cobra died after being electrocuted due to a power leak from a high-tension power line, while two elephants were also killed in 2017, when they came into contact with a snapped power line in Srimadurai in Gudalur.

Conservationists have, for years, called on the government to direct the Tamil Nadu Generation and Distribution Corporation (Tangedco) and Tamil Nadu Electricity Board to ensure that electricity lines are a minimum of 14 feet above the ground and not in proximity to trees that could snap the lines if uprooted.