Karnataka HC orders inquiry into elephants' deaths

Deepa Balakrishnan, IBNLive.com
November 7, 2008

TRAGIC END: villagers noticed that four elephants were dead and the carcasses were floating in the Kabini canal.
Bangalore: The Karnataka High Court has ordered an inquiry into the increasing number of unnatural elephant deaths in Mysore. On Wednesday four elephants were badly wounded after getting electrocuted near the Kabini canal.

Soon some villagers noticed that all the four were dead and the carcasses were floating in the canal.
"We come by this canal everyday and suddenly saw these carcasses floating in the canal. We called the police to see what can be done," a villager Siddaraju said.

Three days later with forest officials still unable ascertain the cause of death, the Karnataka High Court has taken suo motu notice of the case and has asked for an inquiry report in a week.

The larger question of what caused the death still remains a mystery. Villagers say elephants stray out during November when crops are just ready for harvest.
So farmers in this fertile region use electric fences, with illegally tapped high-voltage power to fend off the animals.


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