Maharashtra: Elephant, tigress found dead in forest areas of Chandrapur

Preliminary reports indicate that the elephant may have succumbed to electrocution, as it was found near agricultural land with electric fences

An elephant and a tigress were found dead in different forest areas of Maharashtra’s Chandrapur district in the last 24 hours, officials said.

One person was taken into custody for questioning. (Representative file image)

Jitendra Ramgaonkar, the chief conservator of forests, Chandrapur circle, said that an elephant, which had crossed the Wainganga river from the neighboring Gadchiroli district and entered Chandrapur, was found dead near an agriculture farm in Chitki village on Tuesday morning.

Similarly, a tigress was found dead in Chiprala jungle near Bhadravati forest range, adjacent to the Tadoba tiger sanctuary, on Monday evening.

Preliminary reports indicate that the elephant may have succumbed to electrocution, as it was found near agricultural land with electric fences.

The animal’s teeth and other body parts remained intact to rule any incident of poaching.

The exact cause of death of both the animals will be established once the post-mortem report becomes available, Ramgaonkar said adding that the forest department has taken a person into custody for questioning.