The elephant died of electrocution after coming in contact with an electric fence. (Representational)
A 20-year-old male elephant died of electrocution after coming into contact with an illegal electric fence erected around a paddy field at a village on the Coimbatore city outskirts early Tuesday, forest officials said.
Residents of Semmedu village alerted forest department officials about the elephant in the area falling under Boluvampatti Forest range, they said.
Electricity board officials who also arrived at the scene found high voltage electricity was illegally connected to the fence erected around the field of Durai alias Aruchamy, who is missing after the incident, the officials said.
A Wild Life Offence Report has been registered against the farmer, they added.
Several such incidents had been reported in the forest fringe areas in the region in the past. In November last, a male elephant died of electrocution near Coimbatore after it came into contact with an illegal electric fence at a banana farm.
Though energising fences with low voltage for preventing wild animals from entering farms is permitted, often the farmers resort to connecting high tension power, which result in fatalities, despite warnings by Forest officials.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)