Brutality, man-made disasters cause regular elephant deaths With their habitat shrinking fast, elephants are regularly falling prey to human brutality and man-made disasters. The last few days have been especially tragic for these gentle beasts. After the shooting down of a tusker in Ranipur Jhal area of Hardwar district last Thursday, an elephant and her one-year-old calf were electrocuted near Dimna lake near Jamshedpur on Monday while the decomposed body of another pachyderm was discovered at the Corbett Tiger Reserve in Uttarakhand. There has been alarming rise in the deaths of elephants in the recent past. In all cases, whether direct confrontation between the man and animal or electrocution or trains running over them, the elephants are dying because humans are destroying what is home to them. The Ranipur incident was a chilling example of the cruelty towards "homeless" elephants. The tusker, which had strayed into the agriculture fields of Budahedi village in Hardwar on Thursday morning, was surrounded by a huge stone-pelting crowd. The panicked tusker attacked the people, leading to two deaths. Following the Chief Wildlife Warden's order, the tusker was shot down by the forest guards and police officials. No one cared to use tranquilliser guns to sedate or tame the elephant. No less tragic was the Jamshedpur incident. The incident occurred when the calf, which was walking ahead of its mother, came in contact with a hanging live wire near the lake. The mother elephant rushed to rescue her baby and also came in contact with the wire, divisional forest officer (Dalma wildlife sanctuary) Sidharth Tripathy said. Both the elephants were killed on the spot, he added. However, three others elephants coming from behind were saved and attempts were on to drive them to the Dalma hills. Tripathy said the electric wires, drawn illegally by villagers from poles, were hanging a little high above seven feet. Assuring stringent action against the persons responsible for such incidents, he said a team of officials headed by him conducted a survey on Monday and found live wires hanging inside and around several villages. He said a directive had been issued to the department concerned for removing the wires immediately or face action. With the recovery of the decomposed body of an elephant in the Corbett Tiger Reserve in Uttarakhand on Monday, at least eight tuskers have been killed here this year. Two others elephant deaths were reported in the forest divisions in close proximity to the Corbett reserve. The latest death took place in Jhirna range, where a team of officials, engaged in the leopard census, came across the decomposed body of a tusker. The elephant's tusks were intact. "The deceased elephant, aged around 70, seemed to have died nearly two months back. It was spotted by the census officials," DFO Kalagarh MS Kunwar said. Earlier on May 12, a female elephant died in Dikala zone of the Corbett reserve. The death was attributed to injuries in the throat of the elephant, which prevented her from swallowing food. An elephant calf was electrocuted in Belparav range on May 7. On April 30, a male elephant died in Kalagarh range due to internal struggle. On April 19, another male calf died in Adnala range. The reasons for the death could not be ascertained. On April 15, another female baby elephant died in Sonwadi area when it slipped off a huge cliff. Similarly on January 31, a male elephant died in the same area. On January 24, an elephant calf was found dead in Dhela range. The Corbett administration had cited liver problems as having caused the death. The same day, another baby elephant was found dead in Kosi range after a fall. On January 10, a male elephant died after it slipped in the Adnala range of the park. For any comments, queries or feedback, kindly mail us at pioneerletters@yahoo.co.in