FOUR ELEPHANTS FOUND KILLED DUE TO LIGHTENING

FOUR ELEPHANTS FOUND KILLED

DUE TO LIGHTENING

Carcasses of four elephants were found in Gavi forests in the Ranni Division of Pathanamthitta district today20th August,2011, forest department sources said.Two of them were adults and the others calves as per initial reports, The carcasses were found deep in the forest at Varayadinkokka near Pachakkanam, they said, adding that exact cause of the death was yet to be ascertained and a team of Wildlife officials had left for the spot.Forest Department sources at Pachakkanam said that frequent lightning which had struck the forest tracts on August 17 could have caused the animals' death. Severe burns were found all over the carcass, sources said. They ruled out the possibility of electrocution since no power transmission line was passing through the area However, unconfirmed reports based on information gathered from locals, said the elephants were either electrocuted or struck by lightning last night.R. Kamalahar, Ranni Divisional Forest Officer; Sanjayankumar, Thekkady DFO; P.R.Sureshkumar, Deputy Director, Periyar-West, and H.T.Jose, Goodrickal Forest Range Officer, visited the spot on Friday,19^th August,2011.The autopsy would be conducted by wildlife veterinary surgeon Sreejith on Saturday, sources said.

                                                                           Prof. John Kurakar