18 wild elephants killed in Assam forest allegedly due to lightning

At least 18 wild elephants were found dead inside Tapatjuri forest in central Assam's Nagaon district with officials suspecting that lightening on Wednesday evening could have led to their deaths.

Videos shared on social media showed the wild elephants, some with their babies lying dead on the hills that house herds of wild jumbos. After being informed by people living near the hills, forest staff reached the spot on Thursday and gathered evidence to determine the exact cause of the deaths.

"It is suspected that lightning caused the deaths. But it is too early to reach a conclusion till we get the post-mortem report," said a senior forest officer.

Assam on Wednesday evening witnessed rains, thunderstorms, and lightning, resulting in damage to houses and properties at some places. But deaths of such a large number of wild elephants shocked wildlife lovers and government officials.

Green Guard Nature Organisation, an NGO, which has been working there for nearly 20 years for the protection of forests and wildlife said there was no visible evidence pointing to lightning in the videos shared on social media. "We request for a thorough and independent inquiry to assuage the concerns of conservationists and wildlife lovers," Rituraj Phukan, Secretary General, Green Guard Nature Organization said.

Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, while expressing shock over the incident, instructed Forest Minister Parimal Suklabaidya to rush to the spot and carry out a thorough investigation to ascertain the exact cause of the deaths.

According to a census carried out in 2017, Assam has over 5,700 jumbos, which was the second highest after Karnataka (6.049).