In Tamil Nadu, an elephant has a higher chance of dying of electrocution than of old age and starvation put together, according to the data made public by the Forest Department from its Elephant Death Audit Framework.
The framework prescribes a standard protocol for conducting post-mortem to determine the reasons for death and is aimed at understanding the circumstances in cases of preventable and unnatural deaths. According to the data, unnatural causes, primarily electrocution, were behind more than one in every 10 elephant deaths. Since 2010, 128 animals have died of electrocution — with 76 cases of electrocution being “intentional” — which occurred as the result of negative interactions with humans. The other unnatural causes are poaching, poisoning, gunshots as well as train and road accidents.
The data show that 1,505 elephant deaths have been recorded since 2010, and 159 of them, or 10.5% of all mortalities, were caused by humans or human-related activities.
The primary threat to the life of an Asian elephant that uses the landscape comes from disease, with 802 deaths, followed by electrocution. In contrast, only 27 deaths, or 1.7% of all mortalities, were caused by old age and 24 deaths, or 1.6%, were brought on by starvation.
Senior officials of the Forest Department say that while this figure seems startling, a cursory reading of the data could lead to the erroneous inference that Asian elephants in the State were not likely to survive till old age. “This would be a misinterpretation of the data. It has to be remembered that when an animal gets older, it becomes more prone to diseases, predation, and starvation. This means that while old age may not have killed an elephant, it would have played a part in its mortality due to disease, predation, starvation, or other causes.”
“The statistics only indicate the cause of death as recorded during the time of postmortem, and are organised under broad categories. So, the nuances of the death of each animal and the causes thereof can be skewed, if the data are taken at face value,” said the official.
It may be noted that 158 carcasses were deemed to be unfit for postmortem during the period. This means the cause of death was unlikely to be ascertained.
N. Mohanraj, a conservationist in the Nilgiris, says it is a matter of concern that electrocution is one of the leading causes of mortality among Asian elephants in the State.
“This shows that co-existence between humans and elephants is extremely difficult, and an elephant leaving a protected area and venturing into human habitations and farmland is at a high risk of being killed.”
Another prominent conservationist in the Nilgiris, who requested anonymity, says that while the threat of poaching has diminished over the years, electrocution remains one of the single largest threats to elephants. “The Tamil Nadu Electricity Board’s laxity in ensuring that electric fences are installed close to animal habitats in compliance with the rules, and while installing overhead power cables, is leading to the death of many elephants in the Nilgiris, Coimbatore, Salem and Erode every year. Addressing these issues alone could help to halve unnecessary elephant deaths,” the conservationist says.
