Lightning kills 18 elephants in Assam
This is the first time that large-scale causality has been reported among elephants in Assam in nearly two decades. In 2001, at least 21 elephants were poisoned to death in the adjoining tiger reserves of Nameri and Pakke spread across Assam and Arunachal Pradesh.
A herd of eighteen wild Asiatic elephants has been found dead in Assam, possibly because of a huge lightning strike, local officials said on Friday. Fourteen adult elephants were found dead by villagers on Thursday, and another four bodies were found scattered on the foothills of the Kundoli reserve forest area of Assam, 160km (99 miles) from the state capital of Dispur.
Lightning-related deaths in elephants have earlier been reported in West Bengal. This is the first time that large-scale causality has been reported among elephants in Assam in nearly two decades. In 2001, at least 21 elephants were poisoned to death in the adjoining tiger reserves of Nameri and Pakke spread across Assam and Arunachal Pradesh.
The district had cases of man-animal conflicts.
