In the Indian state of Assam, 18 elephants were found dead, probably killed by lightning. To confirm this hypothesis and rule out that it could have been poisoning, the Indian authorities have decided to launch an investigation.
He is about to end up run over, his mother saves him
18 Asian elephants have been found dead in recent days in the protected reserve of the Kondali forest, in the Indian state ofAssam. Here, until now, there has never been a death of this magnitude.
They were allegedly killed by one of the powerful lightning strikes that struck in the region in the night between 12 and 13 May, but to confirm this hypothesis and rule out that it could have been poisoning, the Indian authorities have decided to start a investigation that will shed light on the affair within two weeks.
The specimens, including 5 still cubs, were found lifeless in a fairly isolated area of the reserve. The announcement was made on Twitter by Parimal Suklabaidya, Minister of Forestry, Environment and Fisheries of the Indian state.
"Deeply saddened by the deaths of 18 elephants last night due to a huge storm under the Kothiatoli mountain range in Nagaon," writes Suklabaidya, who then informed citizens about the establishment of a committee to clarify the causes of the animals' deaths. .
Deeply pained by the death of 18 elephants last night due to massive thunderstorm under Kothiatoli Range in Nagaon. I shall be visiting the site tomorrow morning along with PCCF(wildlife) & senior officials to take stock of the situation as directed by HCM Dr.@himantabiswa. pic.twitter.com/CxHqmUZFtv
- Parimal Suklabaidya (@ ParimalSuklaba1) May 13, 2021
According to the first tests carried out by veterinarians, the pachyderms would have been killed by lightning, since on their bodies there are several burns.
As per direction of HCM @himantabiswa, customary last rites of the dead elephants performed by @ParimalSuklaba1, Jitu Goswami MLA. Burial given by CWLW @mkyadava and other forest officials till late evening. Burial images showed severe burn injuries due to lightning strike pic.twitter.com/nUbxQbrIqp
— Chief Minister Assam (@CMOfficeAssam) May 15, 2021
Suspicion of poisoning
Although veterinarians are quite convinced that the elephant's death is attributable to lightning, some wildlife conservationists, including the NGO Nature's Beckon, do not rule out that it may have been a matter of a case of poisoning, given that elephants often enter villages, destroying crops and clashing with people.
18 wild Elephant carcases were found in the Bamuni Pahar area under Kathiatoli forest range in Nagaon district. Nature's…
Posted by Nature's Beckon, Northeast India on Thursday, May 13, 2021
Unfortunately, it would not be the first time that someone has poisoned these animals using poison. The state of Assam is home to around 6.000 Asian elephants that leave the forest in search of food. For this reason, in recent years, several wildlife conservation experts have turned to the government to take measures to protect this endangered species, first of all preventing people from invading their habitat and creating corridors to allow elephants to move safely.
Source: Chief Minister Assam / Twitter / Facebook
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