Electrocuted Wild Elephant Found Dead in Assam Paddy Field

Guwahati: A wild elephant lay dead in a paddy field this Diwali morning. The animal turned up in the Bogeebeel-Rampur area at No. 1 Ex-Servicemen village in Assam's Lakhimpur district. It hit an illegal live electric wire on Saturday night. The wire stretched across the field to stop herds from eating ripening crops near the Assam-Arunachal Pradesh border.

Officers from the Silaneebari Police Outpost now handle the case. The elephant was between 20 and 25 years old. Harmutty Forest Range officials suspect it was a nursing mother. A forest official said: "The presence of signs of suckling suggested that the animal could have been a female with a calf."

Authorities took Krishna Bahadur Limbu and Lam Bahadur Limbo into custody for questioning. This death highlights the violent struggle between humans and elephants in the region. Herds often migrate from the hills of Arunachal Pradesh to forage. Habitat loss and food shortages push them into settled land. Farmers use lethal wires to protect their harvest. This practice now stands as a primary threat to the local elephant population.