Nagaon: As many as 18 elephants had been discovered lifeless in distant hill areas of Assam`s Nagaon district on Thursday (May 13).
According to Assam Forest Minister Parimal Suklabaidya, preliminary investigation means that the elephants died as a consequence of electrocution brought on by lightning. However, the precise cause can solely be confirmed after put up mortem.
Speaking to ANI, the minister mentioned, “It is a very saddening incident. This has never happened before in the Assam forest. Today afternoon, when it was raining, a thunder struck and 18 elephants died.”
He additional knowledgeable that he will probably be visiting the spot on Friday and a put up mortem of the elephants will probably be carried out. “When we received the news, our DFO along with a veterinary doctor reached the site. In his report, the doctor has stated thundering as the reason. Tomorrow I will be visiting the location with five doctors, to conduct the post mortem,” he mentioned.
Explaining the issue in taking a workforce to the distant hill space, Parimal Suklabaidya mentioned, “We have a team currently up there at the hill. However the post mortem cannot happen in the darkness tonight. It is also difficult to take a bigger team because it is on a hill.”
The preliminary investigation discovered that the jumbos had been killed as a consequence of electrocution brought on by lightning, however the actual cause will probably be recognized solely after autopsy, which will probably be executed on Friday, Principal Chief Conservator of Forest (Wildlife) Amit Sahay advised PTI. “Two Divisional Forest Officers (DFOs) and one Conservator of Forest have conducted the preliminary investigation. On Friday morning, another team with veterinary doctors will reach the spot and conduct the post-mortem,” he added.
When requested how might such an enormous variety of elephants die collectively, Sahay mentioned normally elephants keep in huddles in case of storms or rain. “Probably, at that very moment, lightning struck and the entire group got killed. I have asked the concerned DFO to provide more information like how many males or females were there. It will take some more time,” he mentioned.
Villagers residing close to the hill claimed that the herd of the wild elephants was screaming unnaturally all through the evening and the cries light steadily because the day broke.
Assam CM Himanta Biswa expresses concern over elephants’ deaths
Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma expressed concern over the incident and requested Environment and Forest Minister Parimal Suklabaidya to go to the spot to inquire into the matter.
Elephant knowledgeable Bibhuti Lahkar termed the incident surprising and mentioned such instances are very uncommon and extraordinary in the Northeast. “In open areas of some places like the African grassland such accidents have taken place, but rarely in India. If we consider Eastern India, then one such incident took place at Jaldapara in West Bengal around 12-15 years ago, but the number of deaths was not so high,” he mentioned.
Though officers are attributing the explanations to lightning from preliminary investigation, it’s too early to reach at a conclusion earlier than the autopsy because the variety of elephants dying is “simply too high”, mentioned Lahkar, the pinnacle of elephant conservation at NGO Aaranyak.
Is local weather change the explanation behind jumbos’ loss of life?
“If they really died due to lightning, then these are signals of climate change. Our climate has become erratic, thunderstorm, rain — everything has become erratic. If we really want to arrest this, we need to save our nature,” mentioned the winner of the ‘Heritage Heroes Award 2016’ of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
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