Odisha: Elephant dies in wire trap laid for wild boar

BHUBANESWAR: Nine days after two adult female elephants were electrocuted in Keonjhar forest division due to a sagging electric wire, a female elephant died in an electrocution trap laid by poachers in Hindol range in Dhenkanal district on Saturday.
In June, an elephant was electrocuted in same Hindol range. While the total deaths of elephant in electrocution in the state in three months rose to four, three were electrocuted in a little over a week.
According to forest officials, the female elephant was caught unawares when it came in contact with the live wire that had been hooked from the main line. Since a wild boar was also electrocuted, it was thought to be an electrocution trap laid by poachers to hunt the boar and not the pachyderm.
“It looked like an electrocution trap laid to kill wild boar. The female elephant succumbed after it came in contact with it,” said regional chief conservator of forests (Angul) M Yogajayanand.
Sources said the incident took place close to human habitation and human lives could also have been lost. Earlier, people also fell prety to the electrocution trap.
“Elephants came under such traps quite frequently. Hindol range has been a notorious one as far as electrocution deaths are concerned but poor coordination between energy and forest departments results in such incidents. In fact, the energy department should wrap insulators around the electric wire, leaving little scope for the poachers to put hooks and lay traps,” said Biswajit Mohanty, secretary of Wildlife Society of Odisha (WSO), a private organisation working for conservation of wildlife.
Prakash Gogineni, divisional forest officer (Dhenkanal), said three suspects have come under their scanner. “We have launched a manhunt to nab three professional poachers, who are suspected to be involved in the incident. Earlier also, they were involved in many cases. In one such case, we had interrogated them and busted a gang of poachers, which lay these electrocution traps,” the official said.