Pregnant wild elephant electrocuted

Sambalpur: A 15-year-old wild female elephant, reportedly pregnant, was found dead near Dera on the Baduapali–Jhankarbahali road under the Baduapali panchayat in the Sadar forest range of Sambalpur district.According to forest officials, the elephant is suspected to have died after coming in contact with a live electric wire while moving out of the Jhankarbahali forest on Wednesday night. Preliminary findings and thesurrounding circumstances indicate that electrocution was the cause of death.DFO (Sambalpur) Gopinath Sudarshan Yadav said that a forest department team rushed to the spot after receiving information from local residents and initiated an investigation into the incident. The post-mortem examination of the elephant was completed on Thursday. During the the inquiry, officials found that an individual had allegedly drawn an illegal electricity connection from a transformer near the site. The elephant is believed to have come in contact with the unauthorized live wire, leading to its death.Forest officials further stated that the deceased elephant had reportedly strayed from a herd of 14 elephants before the incident took place. The DFO said action would be taken against the person responsible for the illegal power connection, and an arrest is likely as the investigation progresses. The incident has once again raised concerns over illegal electrification practices in elephant habitats and the growing threat they pose to wildlife in the region.