Elephant electrocuted, tigress found dead in Chandrapur forest

A wild elephant died due to electrocution and the carcass of a tigress was found in different parts of the forest in Maharashtra's Chandrapur district in 24 hours, a forest official said on Tuesday.

This was the first such death of a wild elephant recorded in the forest of Chandrapur in 100 years, chief conservator of forest Dr Jitendra Ramgaonkar said.

The elephant, aged around 30 to 35 years, was found dead in Chitki village of Sindewahi tehsil, around 74 km away from the district headquarters, on Tuesday morning, he said.

'Prima facie, it appears that the elephant might have died due to electrocution after coming in contact with a livewire laid to protect standing crops in Chitki. Farmers Ashok Borkar (65) and Ajay Borkar (29) have been taken into custody and an offence has been registered against them under the Indian Wildlife Act, 1927. Further investigation is underway in the case,' Dr Ramgaonkar said.

There has been no presence of wild elephants in the district in the last 100 years and this is the first such death, he said.

The elephant that was found dead had crossed Wainganga river in Sindewahi tehsil in Chandrapur district through the forest of Gadchiroli, the official said.

He said the elephant was part of a herd of pachyderms that had reached Gadchiroli from Odisha a few months ago.

Meanwhile, the official said the carcass of a tigress was found in compartment number 211 under the Bhadravati forest range on Monday.

The animal's teeth, claws and whiskers were intact, he said, adding that the cause of death will be known once the post-mortem report arrives.