Assam: Carcass of elephant recovered in Numaligarh, electrocution suspected

In a tragic incident, a wild elephant carcass was found lying at the edge of a man’s house at No. 2 Burhagohainkhat in Numaligarh.

The locals suspect the elephant must have died due to electrocution. People in the village have set up fences lined up with live wire to protect their homes and crops from wandering elephant herd that have come out of the forest, searching for food.

Meanwhile, the locals offered flower petals, incense sticks and the ‘gamucha’ on the body of the dead elephant before handing him over to forest department.

It is not the first time that an elephant carcass has been found in the village. Earlier too many elephants and their calves have been found lying dead in the corner of the village after coming in contact with live wire erected by the villagers around their farms and homes. 

It may be mentioned here that due to the expansion activities of tea gardens and Numaligarh Refinery, wild elephants living in the forest area have been forced to abandon their habitat, losing their normal way of movement, and wandering out into human habitation in search of food and water.

Locals and wildlife activists have regularly criticized the forest department for taking no measures to solve the problem. On the other, activists have also urged the locals to not to set up electric fencing around their houses as most of the elephants have died in the recent times due to electrocution.