Elephant found dead in Belur

A female wild elephant was found dead, after coming into contact with a sagging electric wire, at Kogilumane village in Belur taluk on Monday.

The elephant, aged about 25 years, was part of a recently formed herd locally referred to as the “dispatch” herd. The incident occurred in an area known for repeated instances of human-elephant conflict.

After the animal’s death, residents informed Forest Department officials. The Range Forest Officer of Belur had earlier written to officials of the Chamundeshwari Electricity Supply Corporation (CESC), flagging the sagging electric line in the locality.

Sourabh Kumar, Deputy Conservator of Forests, Hassan, told The Hindu that a post-mortem was conducted on Monday. “The animal died of electrocution. Its trunk came into contact with the sagging wire, leading to its death,” Mr. Kumar said.

Mr. Kumar said he also observed residents offering prayers to the dead animal. “This is an area of human-elephant conflict, where a section of the people keep demanding complete translocation of all elephants. In the same locality, we saw people upset over the death of the animal and also expressing anger over the sagging electric wire that caused it,” he said.

The Forest Department would register a case and investigate the incident further, Mr. Kumar added.

Several parts of Belur, Alur, and Sakleshpur taluks in Hassan district are known for human-elephant conflict, with multiple herds of wild elephants roaming across the district.