Electrocution bigger threat than poaching for India’s wild elephants

Wild elephants are being drawn into inhabited areas more frequently. Image by Haiderali44 / CC BY 2.0

According to a new report from Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, electrocution is a bigger danger to wild elephants than poaching. The reserve is home to a quarter of India’s wild elephants but ten elephants have been killed in the reserve in the last ten years by electric fences, erected illegally by farmers and estate owners. Nationwide, some 318 elephants have been electrocuted since 2003, but the problem is particularly severe in Nilgiri, where migration corridors mean that elephants are more likely to roam into inhabited areas. Read more: timesofindia.indiatimes.com