A wild elephant was found electrocuted on Friday in Maihar district after apparently coming into contact with a high-tension overhead electricity wire, a forest official said.
The elephant’s body was discovered in the Mukundpur range, located four kilometres from Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve (BTR), where ten wild elephants had recently died after ingesting a poisonous substance, the official added.
Maihar Sub Divisional Officer of Forest, Yashpal Mehra, informed that the elephant appeared to have raised its trunk while underneath the power line in Machwatola village, leading to its immediate death.
It is believed that the elephant had wandered from the Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve, where it was part of a herd of three.
Following the incident, the other two elephants returned to the nearby forest, Mehra noted.
"We were monitoring the area and tracking the elephants after receiving reports of their movement," Mehra said, adding that the incident likely occurred around 3:30 am, with the forest department being alerted at 6:30 am.
A team of veterinarians from Panna Tiger Reserve arrived at the scene to conduct an autopsy.
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