A 39,000 Amps Lightning Flash Killed 18 Wild Elephants in Nagaon: Assam Govt.

After many wildlife conservationists suspected human foul play behind the death of the jumbos, the government consulted national and international experts

Time8 Desk
June 3, 2021
6:15 pm

GUWAHATI: A strong negative lightning flash with a peak current of 39,000 Amperes had killed the 18 wild elephants in Kandali reserve forest area under Kathiatoli forest range of Nagaon forest division on May 13, said the final investigation report of the incident.

The state forest minister Parimal Suklabaidya on Thursday making the findings of the investigation public said that the autopsy report of the deceased jumbo samples suggested that the death of the elephants in the herd may not be attributed to any infectious pathological agent or any toxin or poison.

The investigation report suggested, “There does not appear to be any foul play such as the conscious attempt of electrocution, revenge killing, poisoning, anthrax outbreak etc. Hence it can be deduced from the evidence available, which point to the cause of death of the 18 elephants by accidental electrocution due to lightning”.

The office of the Animal Health Care Centre (AHCC), North Eastern Regional Disease Diagnostic Laboratory (NERDDL), Animal Husbandry and veterinary department, Assam submitted its autopsy report on June 2.

An official statement said, “The authorised team of veterinarians had submitted detailed post-mortem report on May 27, 2021. From the available history, detailed study of the circumstantial evidence at the site, the study of gross and histopathological lesions, laboratory reports nullifying the presence of anthrax-like bacilli and any toxins or its metabolites in the submitted samples and correlation with the available meteorological data that prevailed during that period, in our opinion, the 18 elephants that were found dead in the Kundali hills have died due to electrocution by lightning.”

After several theories were tossed and many wildlife conservationists suspected human foul play behind the death of the jumbos, the state government took up the matter with both national and international experts, organizations seeking their views and comments on the incident based on the preliminary report of the team of veterinarians that was submitted by the team on May 14 and photographic evidence collected at the site.

Comments received from Markus Hofmeyr, Wildlife Veterinarian, Director, Rhino Recovery Fund, and Vivek Menon, Chair, Asian Elephant Specialist Group, IUCN also suggested that the cause of death may be suspected to be a lightning strike as such incidents are not uncommon.