4 more tuskers electrocuted

Kumar said as the elephant was struggling, others came to help him and in the process all of them were electrocuted. 8220;It is very difficult to check such incidents and every year around 10 elephants lose their life due to electrocution.8221; Last year, the State Forest Department had written a letter to the Meghalaya State Electricity Board MeSEB to raise the electric poles wherever possible.

Kumar said the MeSEB had promised to raise the height of the poles, but neither the forest department nor the MeSEB can predict which route the elephants were likely to take making the job that more difficult.

In Meghalaya, the total population of pachyderms has been put at 1868. Kumar said the population has more or less remained the same for many years. 8220;Elephants die either due to electrocution or retaliatory killing by the villagers.8221; Kumar said the forest department has not come across elephant poaching.