Chhattisgarh: Elephant calf electrocuted in Raigarh district

A male elephant calf died of electrocution on a sugarcane field in Chhattisgarh's Raigarh district on Friday, a forest official said.

The carcass of a one-year-old elephant was found with a live wire in its mouth in Puslada village under Gharghoda tehsil, said Stylo Mandavi, the divisional forest officer (DFO) Raigarh division.

The forest personnel rushed to the spot and post-mortem was conducted by a team of veterinarians, she said.

Preliminary investigations have revealed that a herd of 19 elephants had wandered into the village on Thursday night and the calf from the group came in contact with an electric wire in the sugarcane field and died, the official said.

Chhattisgarh has reported death of over 70 elephants in the last five years with the causes range from ailments and age to electrocution, officials said.