A 20-year-old male elephant was electrocuted to death when it came into contact with an illegal electric fence erected around a farm at a village in Semmedu in the district in Tamil Nadu, forest officials said on Tuesday. The forest department veterinary doctor examined the elephant and declared that it died of electrocution.
Residents of Semmedu village alerted forest department officials about the elephant in the area falling under Boluvampatti Forest range, they said.
Electricity board officials who also arrived at the scene found high voltage electricity was illegally connected to the fence erected around the field of Durai alias Aruchamy, who is absconding after the incident, the officials said. A Wild Life Offence Report has been registered against the farmer, they added.
Numerous such incidents had been reported in the forest fringe areas in the region in the past. In November last, a male elephant died of electrocution near here after it came into contact with an illegal electric fence at a banana farm. Though energising fences with low voltage for preventing wild animals from entering farms is permitted, often the farmers resort to connecting high tension power, which results in fatalities, despite warnings by Forest officials.
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