BHOPAL: A male wild elephant was electrocuted after coming in contact with a low-hanging live power line in Malakpur village of Madhya Pradesh's Mauganj district in the early hours of Saturday.
The elephant, estimated to be between 15 and 20 years old, reportedly came in contact with the wire while trying to feed on leaves from a guava tree near a tribal family's house. It died on the spot due to the electric shock.
The incident, which occurred around 3 am, left the second elephant in the pair agitated, triggering panic in the village.
A team from Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve (BTR), which has been tracking another wild elephant in eastern Madhya Pradesh, was rushed to Mauganj to rescue the surviving elephant.
A senior wildlife official at the state forest department headquarters told TNIE that the two elephants had been moving across parts of eastern Madhya Pradesh and adjoining Uttar Pradesh for several months and were under continuous monitoring.
“The two male elephants have been moving around parts of eastern MP and adjoining UP’s Prayagraj and Mirzapur districts since last many months and have been under continuous monitoring. Based on real time information about the movement of the two elephants, electricity supply was regularly shut down in the areas where they were moving. But the mishap occurred in the wee hours in a village of Mauganj district. A thorough enquiry will be done into the entire incident and those found responsible will face action,” the official said.
Officials from neighbouring Sidhi district had shared the elephants' movement details with the Mauganj team after the pair entered the district.
The incident has raised questions over how the elephant came into contact with a live wire despite continuous tracking and precautionary power shutdowns in the area.
According to local information, the elephant entered the village at night and damaged a guava tree. The electric wire reportedly snapped when the tree fell and came into contact with the elephant. Police and forest officials said the exact sequence of events would be established after the investigation.
A forest department team has reached the spot and begun an investigation. The exact cause of death will be confirmed after the postmortem, though electrocution is being treated as the preliminary cause.
Three wild elephants have been moving through eastern Madhya Pradesh in recent weeks. Two were roaming in districts bordering Uttar Pradesh, while another elephant is currently in Maihar district. A Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve team is trying to capture and relocate it.
This is the second wild elephant death caused by a low-hanging power line in eastern and south-eastern Madhya Pradesh in less than two years. In November 2024, a semi-adult elephant died after its trunk came in contact with an 11 KV power line in Maihar district.
Bhopal-based wildlife activist Ajay Dubey alleged criminal negligence in the latest incident and demanded a high-level inquiry.
“An immediate high-level inquiry needs to be instituted. We demand the suspension of the concerned DFO, to ensure that the forest department finally wakes up, before more wild elephants moving in Seoni, Chhindwara and Maihar suffer similar tragedy.”