A male elephant died after being electrocuted by an electrical wire in Dharmapuri’s Kelavalli village on Saturday, March 18. This is the fourth elephant to have been electrocuted in a span of 11 days in Dharmapuri district of Tamil Nadu. In a video that is doing the rounds on social media, the elephant was walking up a slightly elevated piece of land when it came in contact with the electrical wire and died immediately.
On March 7, three elephants were electrocuted at Kali Kavindar Kottai village in Dharmapuri’s Marandahalli. The incident occurred after a farmer put up an electric fence to prevent wild boars from entering his fields. Unfortunately, when three elephants tried to cross the fence, they were electrocuted and died on the spot.
The three adult elephants were accompanied by two calves. According to The Hindu, the two calves, who were less than 9 months old, were saved after the forest officials alerted the Tamil Nadu Generation and Distribution Corporation (TANGEDCO) staff to disconnect the electric wire in the fence. Reports said that the farmer, K Murugesan, who put up the illegal electric fence has been arrested.
Animal rights activists have made a mention before the Madras High Court asking the Tamil Nadu Forest Department to take custody of the calves, The Hindu reported. They further asked for the calves to be united with a different herd that has lactating mothers.