Lightning Kills 18 Elephants In India
A herd of eighteen wild Asiatic elephants were found dead in
India’s eastern state of Assam, possibly because of a massive lightning strike.
Fourteen adult elephants were found dead by villagers on
Thursday.
Another four bodies were found scattered on the foothills of
the Kundoli reserve forest area of Assam, 160 kilometres from the state capital
of Dispur, local wildlife official, M.K Yadava, told Reuters.
The state government ordered a high-level inquiry into the
incident on Friday, Assam’s Forest and Wildlife Minister, Parimal Suklabaidya,
said.
Locals, who found the elephants, said the animals could have
been killed by a lightning strike late on Wednesday, a local forest ranger
said, adding that he had seen burnt trees in the area.
The ranger declined to be named as he was not authorised to
speak to the media.
