Palakkad: A three-year-old tusker was electrocuted near an estate in the Walayar forest range in Palakkad district of Kerala, a forest offical said on Tuesday.
The incident occurred at Malampuzha's Anakkal Estate in the wee hours of Tuesday morning.
Palakkad Divisional Forest Officer (DFO) Kurra Srinivas said the animal was found dead in the morning and its herd was found guarding the carcass.
"There was a live connection to a borewell in the area and it seems like the elephant tried to bite it late Monday," the DFO said.
The forest officials managed to chase away the herd conduct a postmortem on the tusker.
The postmortem was conducted and the remains would be cremated either or tomorrow morning, he said.
The herd was spotted by the estate workers in the morning.
The heart rending scenes of the mother elephant's attempt to revive the little tusker gathered a crowd.
The elephant was electrocuted by the electric connection used to pump water to the estate from a pond nearby. However, the 200 metre long connection wasdrawn without permisiion, KSEB Assistant Executive Engineer V Selvaraj said.
Damage to crops
The farmers in the area said that they were saddened to hear about the elephant calf's death but they are more disheartened over the destruction of crops by the herd of wild elephants.
Crops often get destroyed by the wild elephants. They are frequently spotted near houses during nights. Elephants destroy crops such as banana, coconut and rubber trees, several farmers complained.
The farmers also alleged that the forest department is not making any attempt to resolve the issue. They also pointed out the alleged delay in repairing fences in case of damage.
But the forest department officials said that all security measures, including proper fencing, have been taken in the area and that this is not an area frequented by wild elephants.
Solar fencing
Earlier a project had been envisaged to install solar-powered fences from Kollamkunnu to Kanjikode to prevent wild animals from entering human habitats. But the project got stalled due to the delay in sanctioning the funds. Then some farmers installed the solar fence on their own.
A solar fence was installed from Karadichola to Kava in 2015. But as it was not properly maintained, it has been rendered useless, according to the farmers.
Five years ago, an elephant calf had died of electrocution at the Kollamkunnu area which is about 4km away from this estate. Thre years ago, a deer calf had also got electrocuted in this region.
Elephant lovers on electric fences
The Palakkad Elephant Lovers Forum opined that the tragic death of the elephant calf in Malampuzha happened because it was not ensured that the power lines along the forest fringes were not posing a threat to the wildlife.
Electric fences, installed unscientifically and without permission, to protect farm lands from wild elephants have been causing the death of wild animals. Permission should be given to set up electric fences around farm lands that are near to the forests, only after the forest department and the electricity department carry out a joint inspection, demanded Haridas Machingal, president of the District Elephant Lovers Forum.
(With PTI inputs.)