A female elephant and her baby were killed after being hit by a train in Assam’s Jorhat district. Both of them were hit by Rajdhani Express near Kharikatia railway station in Jorhat. Top forest officials of the district gave this information on Monday.
The accident took place when a herd of elephants was crossing the railway track on Sunday night, they said, adding that the female elephant was 22 years old and her baby was 10 months old.
Jorhat District Forest Officer Biken Pegu told media that the forest department had alerted the railway officials about the movement of wild elephants. He was requested to ensure that the speed of trains is kept slow while passing through the area, but he did not do so.
Pegu said a female elephant and her baby were killed in a train accident. We will investigate and act as per law.
On the other hand, an adult wild elephant died after coming in contact with an electric wire in the Sanfan forest range of Gosaigaon town of Kokrajhar district on Wednesday. The incident took place when a herd of wild elephants was out of the forest area in search of food. Officials said that after getting the information, a team reached the spot and examined the elephant but by then it had died.
Recently another wild elephant died due to electrocution in Kamrup district of Assam. In recent years, at least five elephants have died in Gudalur and Mudumalai Tiger Reserves after coming in contact with electric wires.
