THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, October 26, 2010
http://www.thehindu.com/news/states/kerala/article851057.ece
The highly putrefied corpses of two elephants — evidently electrocuted — were found at Mangayam in the
Palode forest division, near here, on Tuesday.
Jacob Alexander, the veterinary surgeon who led the post-mortem on the elephants, told The Hindu that the cow elephants died after coming into contact with an 11-KV overhead power cable passing through the area. “The power line known as the Ponmudi feeder supplies power to the Marigold estate nearby,” he said.
The sagging power line would have been just about a foot above the elephants. The point where the elephants touched the line was found in a scorched condition. According to Dr. Alexander, the electrocution must have happened about 14 days ago.
The incident, in all likelihood, occurred when the pachyderms were on their way to a water hole. “According to local people, this is the first incident of elephants getting electrocuted in this area. Some people said the sagging power line was also a threat to human beings,” Dr. Alexander said.The State government has ordered an inquiry into the incident.
