Jumbos attack doctors conducting post-mortem of electrocuted elephants

Doctors and forest officials,who were conducting post-mortem of three elephants electrocuted by a high tension wire outside Dudhwa National Park in Lakhimpur Kheri district,were attacked by a herd of 50 elephants. The team fired gunshots in the air to disperse the elephants. But whey they found that the firing had no effect on the pachyderms,they fled from the spot.

“When the elephants attacked,post-mortem of only one elephant was conducted. The doctors will return to the spot again on Saturday morning to wrap up the post-mortem of the other two elephants,” a veterinary official of the team said.

Earlier in the day,villagers spotted charred bodies of the elephants just outside the reserve forest area. Forest officials said that the elephants had wandered out of the national park probably in search of water.

Divisional Forest Officer of North Kheri A N Singh said apparently one elephant in the herd uprooted the electric pole erected in a field. As the pole came down,high-tension wires fell on the three elephants and they died on the spot,he added.

After the villagers protested against conducting the post-mortem on the field,JCB machines were called in to shift the bodies to reserve area.