The carcass of the male elephant was found near Gudalur on August 7, 2024.
| Photo Credit: SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT
An elephant was found electrocuted when it tried to enter an encroached piece of revenue land that was being used for farming crops in Gudalur on August 7, 2024 (Wednesday) morning.
The encroacher, identified as Balakrishnan, is said to have put up a temporary fence on a portion of “assessed wasteland” that had been demarcated by the Revenue Department at Vadavayal in Sri Madurai panchayat in Gudalur. The elephant, believed to be a nine or 10-year-old male, was found dead on Wednesday morning.
Initial inquiries had led Forest Department officials to suspect that the animal had gotten itself stuck in a bog and that it had died due to its internal organs sustaining injuries. However, on closer inspection, they discovered a piece of wiring near the carcass and further investigations were undertaken.
Under the supervision of the Divisional Forest Officer (Gudalur), Vengatesh Prabhu, a postmortem was conducted. Mr. Prabhu told reporters that analysis of the animal’s viscera had revealed signs of its death being caused due to electrocution.
The Forest Department had also informed the Tamil Nadu Electricity Board to conduct an inspection of the site. Officials stated that they had requested that a report explaining how electricity connections were granted to Balakrishnan who had encroached on revenue land. They also said that a case against Balakrishnan under the Wildlife Protection Act was registered. However, since the death of the elephant on Wednesday morning, he had been absconding.
