A male elephant was electrocuted inside the premises of a private resort at Masinagudi in the Mudumalai Tiger Reserve (MTR) on Thursday.
L.C.S. Srikanth, Deputy Director of MTR, said that the tusker, aged between 16-18, had ventured into the resort, Bamboo Banks, and was eating bamboo shoots inside the property.
A power line was passing over the thicket, from the main building to other rooms on the property.
It is believed the animal had pulled down the bamboo shoot, which got entangled in the power line and that led to it getting snapped and falling onto the animal, said Mr. Srikanth.
Postmortem conducted
The Forest Department staff were informed about the death of the animal and they came to the area, where a postmortem was performed on the carcass. Mr. Srikanth said that the carcass would be buried and the tusks removed.
He added that staff from Tamil Nadu Generation and Distribution Corporation (Tangedco) had also come to the resort to check on the legality of the power line and also to ascertain if all the rules had been followed with regard to the height of the power line from the ground and other facets. “After verifying the circumstances surrounding the death, it seems that it was purely accidental,” said Mr. Srikanth.
Forest officials also said that the resort was not among the facilities that were ordered to be closed down by the Supreme Court located along the elephant corridor in the Mudumalai Tiger Reserve.
