Kochi: A wild elephant calf, estimated to be six to eight months old, was electrocuted in Kothamangalam near here in the early hours of Wednesday. The incident occurred inside a rubber plantation owned by Puthukkunnathu Johnson at Vadakkumbhagam in Kottappady, just 15 to 20 metres from the forest boundary.

A herd of elephants had brought down a rubber tree while feeding on its foliage, snapping an overhead electric line in the process. The live wire fell on the calf, electrocuting it.

“Normally, they knock down rubber trees, eat some of the leaves, and leave. But this was a large tree, and when it fell, it brought down the electric line,” said M K Eldhose, ward member.

“There are two houses situated just across from the site, and the residents heard a tremendous commotion from the herd in the dark. The herd made loud noises and stayed around, but they were unable to rescue the calf because of the live current. They eventually moved back into the forest. In the morning, the calf was found dead,” he said.

Forest personnel from the Kodanad Forest Range, led by the Range Officer, reached the spot on Wednesday morning and conducted inquest proceedings and an inspection of the site. The carcass remained at the plantation pending autopsy. 

Residents fed up with elephant menace
The incident did not trigger the kind of immediate public unrest or sit-in protests that have followed some previous wildlife casualty incidents in the region. “Earlier, people used to stage massive agitations whenever such incidents happened. Now nobody comes forward because people are exhausted from fighting cases filed against them,” Eldhose said.

However, the latest incident has once again highlighted the severity of human-wildlife conflict in the agrarian areas along the Kottappady forest fringe. Vadakkumbhagam, located close to the forest boundary, has increasingly become a nightly transit route for wild elephant herds.

“From 6 or 7 pm every day, herds arrive and enter the plantations. Agriculture has been entirely ruined; people cannot cultivate anything here. Even rubber trees, which they earlier left untouched, are being pulled down,” Eldhose said.

He added that several original landowners in the area, including Johnson, whose plantation was the site of the calf’s death, had abandoned their houses and moved to rented accommodation elsewhere because of the continuing elephant menace.

Eldhose also highlighted the difficulties faced by residents who have been forced to abandon their agricultural properties. Despite being unable to derive any income from their land, many continue to pay land tax but remain ineligible for welfare pensions because ownership of more than one acre legally disqualifies them.

“The land lies barren and unusable due to wildlife attacks, bringing zero income, yet they receive no state support. Many are desperately selling off their plots to quarry operators or moving away. That is the reality across my entire ward,” Eldhose said.