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March, 2005
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Electric fence leads to elephant's death

The pachyderm which lost its life due to electrocution in the outskirts of Jim Corbett National Park in Uttaranchal Villagers had put up electric wires to stop elephants from enetring into their fields and destroying their crops.

     Jim Corbett National Park: The world famous Jim Corbett National Park suffered a major loss when the park lost one of its elephants after it was electrocuted. The elephant was killed due to electrocution on the outskirts of the national park. The elephants from the park venture out to the nearby fields, adjoining the national park, and at times destroy the crops of the villagers. This led to certain villagers putting up electrified fences to prevent the elephants from venturing into and destroying their crops and fields. These fences are usually linked upto the high tension wires, which means that any contact with them leads to instant death due to electrocution.

     The field where this elephant died belonged to one Khuttu Singh. Singh was earlier advised by the forest officials to not to lay electrified fencing, but he never paid heed to their request. The wire used was a thin one, which was not easily visible. The elephant strayed into Khuttu's field at night and its trunk came in contact with the wire, which led to the death of the animal, explained the divisional forest officer, SS Rasaily. "This incident happened in the western forest region, near the Nampukhra range, in gobipura village. This land is attached to our range. For many days we were getting information about elephants straying into these parts and our staff was repeatedly monitoring the area. So we came to know that the owner of the field, Khuttu Singh, had laid down wires here, which was carrying electricity. We even tried to convince him, not to do such a thing. Three days back also our staff came here and removed these wires, but during the night these wires were relayed. And, in the night time these elephants came here and got electrocuted", he added. The landowner, Khuttu Singh, is now being charged under the Wildlife Protection Act of 1972, and is set to be prosecuted soon.
-Mar 17, 2005

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