Heartbreaking scenes as elephant and calf are electrocuted after touching fence illegally wired to mains instead of battery
The 30-year-old female and a six-year-old calf died at a farm on the outskirts of the city of Mettupalayam in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu
AN endangered elephant and a calf were electrocuted when they touched a farm’s electric fence which is believed to have been illegally wired to the mains instead of a battery.
The 30-year-old female and a six-year-old calf died at a farm on the outskirts of the city of Mettupalayam in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu.
District Forest Officer of Coimbatore Forest S. Ramasubramaniam said: "The grove owner claimed that he had used battery operated power setup on his grove to protect his crop.
"The animals could not die if the farmer used battery. In this regard, we have asked The Tamil Nadu Generation and Distribution Corporation (TANGEDCO) officials to inspect the spot."
A farmer named Palanisamy is responsible for the area at Dasampalayam village near Mettupalyam, he added.
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As well as the two elephants being killed, a younger calf of about two years old was seen being injured when the elephants, which are believed to have been endangered Indian elephants, touched the electrified fence and ran off into the forest, reports said.
Mr Ramasubramaniam and his colleagues are looking for the calf to see whether it needs veterinary treatment.
Sadiq Ali, founder of the Wildlife Nature Conservation Trust (WNCT) blamed TANGEDCO for failing to inspect electric fences in the area.
He added that the police should prosecute people who set up illegally strong electric fences, as forestry officials lack the legal force to be a real deterrent.
The Indian elephant has been listed as endangered by IUCN since 1986.
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