Elephant dies in lightning strike

Surajpur, Jun 12: A wild elephant was found dead in a forest in Surajpur district, with a preliminary probe indicating that the pachyderm had been struck by lightning, an official said on Saturday.
The decomposed carcass of a male elephant was recovered near Darhora village under Pratappur forest range on Friday, said Anurag Shrivastav, chief conservator of forest (Surguja Circle).
Surajpur, located over 300 km away from capital Raipur, is a neighbouring district of Korba and falls under Surguja forest circle. Forest personnel rushed to the spot after being alerted by locals, and a three-member team of veterinarians was constituted for the post-mortem, which was done on Saturday, he said. “According to veterinarians, the tusker died after he was struck by lightning while moving around in the jungle. The carcass had been lying there for seven to eight days,” the CCF said, adding that further probe is underway.
When asked how forest personnel at the ground could not locate the carcass, range officer P C Mishra said an investigation in this connection is underway and further action will be taken accordingly. The state had reported the deaths of 15 elephants, including three calves, in different districts due to various reasons, including electrocution, between June and October last year.
Most of these deaths had taken place in northern Chhattisgarh, comprising Surguja, Korba, Balrampur, Surajpur, Raigarh, Jashpur and Korea districts, which are known for human-animal conflicts.
On March 29 this year, an elephant calf was found dead in Raigarh.