The Bhutanese Leading the way.
A lone male Tusker, about 50 years old was found dead on 14 February in Allanchibagan under Norbugang gewog in Nganglam. The Range office official said that the Tusker might have been electrocuted at around 9 pm.
The Tusker passing by the electric line which carries a high voltage happened to touch the tree resting on the line which resulted in electrocution. Officials of the Range office say that the elephant usually tramples the shrubs and trees found in their way while moving.
The Nganglam Range office was informed about the incident by villagers on the day as they detected an awful stink while they passed the particular area. In order to look into the matter, officials went to the site where they found the Tusker, electrocuted to death. About eight days had passed by then and the carcass was almost decayed.
The senior Forest Ranger in Nganglam, Tashila said the Tusker measuring about eight foot and six inches was tainted by the maggots when they actually sighted it at the location. He said that the officials including the local government officials instantly removed the Tusk which was about 1.5 foot long and deployed it to the Range office to surrender to the government.
However the carcass was buried for natural decaying under the observation of village Tshogpa after which the officials will get the bones and other valuable parts of the tusker.
“We also make frequent visits to the site in order to assure that the parts of the tusker are safe,” said Tashila.
According to the forest officials the Tusker might have escaped from such a mishap if the Transmission line that is erected through the particular area was checked frequently and maintained by the Bhutan Power Cooperation (BPC) based in Nganglam.
The officials also shared that the transmission line which electrocuted the Tusker is about 1.5 meters above the ground which they say poses a risk to both human and animals passing by the area.However the concerned officials have reported to the Electricity Service Division in Nganglam about the incident and the urgent need for maintenance of transmission lines.
The BPC office instantly started with the maintenance work.
The Allanchibagan village is located about an hour’s drive from the Range office in Nganglam and the forest provides shelter for many animals both domestic and wild. The elephants reside in the southern foothills with warm climatic conditions and the villagers regularly encounter many elephant’s footprints in the nearby forest.
