18 elephants died due to lightning, confirms post-mortem

GUWAHATI: The 18 wild elephants, found dead in Nagaon district of Assam last month, was killed due to accidental electrocution by lightning, the postmortem examination confirmed.

Various other test reports such as forensic, toxicology and meteorological also suggested the absence of any foul play and pointed towards the electrocution death of the elephants at the Kondoli proposed reserve forest, also known as Bamuni Hills.

The six-member team of experts, formed to carry out the post-mortem, submitted their report to the Forest Department of the Assam government on May 27, 15 days after the tragic incident in the Nagaon Forest Division. “...in our opinion, the 18 elephants that were found dead in the Kondoli hills have died due to accidental electrocution by lightning,” said the report.

The report was prepared after taking into consideration circumstantial evidence at the site, study of gross and histopathological lesions, laboratory reports and correlation with the available meteorological data.

The forensic report from the Directorate of Forensic Science said “no poison and its metabolites were detected” inside the dead elephants. Examining the presence of any toxic substance, the Advanced Animal Disease Diagnosis and Management Consortium of the College of Veterinary Science found that the microbiological analysis of the impression smear could not demonstrate any “anthrax-like organisms”.