Raichur district of Karnataka state is home to nearly 250 species of birds. It is also the second home for many migratory birds.
Manchlapur Lake in the District is a boon for a large number of migratory and resident birds. Nearly 194 species of birds have been recorded here by local birders, including lesser flamingo, greater flamingo, pied avocet, spot billed pelican, spoonbill, and bar headed goose, to name a few. The arrival of lesser flamingos to Manchlapur lake in … Read More
The critically endangered Great Indian Bustard has disappeared from over 90% of its former range due to habitat loss, hunting, disturbance and lack of protection in many ‘lekking’ and nesting sites (see 2013 CI campaign). Now, overhead power transmission lines that crisscross its habitat are sounding the death knell of this low-flying, ground-dwelling species (see attached map). According to a study by the Wildlife Institute of India (WII), as many as … Read More
First published on 14.6.2017:
Based on a recent complaint filed, in the last several days more than 33 flamingos (both lesser and greater of the species) have died in Kumbharwada in Bhavnagar, Gujarat. This incident was discovered after the locals notified the Forest Department. The inspection and postmortem results confirmed that the flamingos died of electric shock. The electrocution of these flamingos took place due to the presence of high-voltage power transmission lines in the Kumbharwada region. These wires have … Read More
On September 4th 2015, a bull elephant that was part of a larger herd was electrocuted when it walked into a live, low-hanging power cable at the Kaziranga National Park in Assam. The herd was trying to reach higher ground in order to escape from floods that had inundated over 80% of the park.
Wildlife photographer Sandesh Kadur, who was in Kaziranga at the time, recounted details of the accident. Years of waterlogging had eroded the base of the electric … Read More
On behalf of the Bustard Conservation Team, Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun.
This article is an outcome of Wildlife Institute of India’s ongoing research and conservation activities under the Great Indian Bustard Conservation Project investigated by Yadvendradev Jhala. The team members are, apart from the author, Sujit Narwade, Tushna Karkaria, Bipin C.M., Arjun Awasthi, Mohib Uddin, Devendradutta Pandey, Tanya Gupta, Sourav Supakar, Vineet Singh, Priyamvada Bagaria, Srinivas Y. and Shaheer Khan.
Much of India’s conservation movement has focused on forested … Read More
During a recent trip to Nagarahole Tiger Reserve in Karnataka, we noticed a few common langurs at play. We paused for a few minutes to observe them jumping around trees, very close to some electric lines running beside the road. Suddenly, one of the excited Langurs jumped straight on to the wires. Unfortunately, it touched two wires at the same time. There was a big spark, which threw the langur off. As it fell to the ground and lay still, … Read More
On 12th September 2014, an adult female Great Indian Bustard (Ardeotis nigriceps) collided with high-tension electric powerlines near Kutch Bustard Sanctuary (KBS) in the Abdasa taluka of Kutch district, Gujarat. The bird was found dead just below the powerlines and had electrocution marks. The incident happened a few hundred meters from the boundary of KBS. There are three heavy powerlines passing by the Lala-Jakhau main road, two lines on one side and one on the other. The bird … Read More
Every year, thousands of Demoiselle Cranes visit Khichan village in the Rajasthan desert during winter. They arrive by October-November and stay on till the end of March. Khichan and the areas around were filled with open high tension wires. Every time these beautiful cranes flew, they would come in contact with these high tension wires and die. The images show such electrocuted cranes.
A Khichan native — Sevaram Malli Parihar — took it upon himself to get these high tension … Read More
This magnificent tusker was electrocuted on Nov 12th, 2012, around 1 a.m., in Balle Range in the Nagarahole Tiger Reserve. The elephant was frequently seen in the area and was known to have sight in only one eye. As it was attempting to cross a tribal village, it appears to have entangled in a triangular section formed by an electric pole and the guy wires holding it up. The elephant’s attempts to free itself seem to have brought the guy … Read More
This cow elephant was electrocuted on the periphery of Sathyamangalam Wildlife Sanctuary on December 21, 2011. The spot is just 15 m away from the forest boundary. It did not die inside a farm. It seems to have just been foraging through densely grown bushes on the side of a cart track abutting a turmeric field. A live wire was concealed inside the bushes and in the course of foraging, the animal seems to have stepped on it, thus getting … Read More
At least 400 Greater Flamingos have died due to electrocution by high tension cables near their breeding grounds in Gujarat. The flamingos breed in the warm marshes of the Khadir region in Kutch. The chief conservator of forests has admitted to atleast 130 deaths, but locals and ornithologists have recorded much higher number of deaths. Deaths are said to be taking place at nights, when the birds would fly into the near invisible wires after being disturbed by passing vehicles … Read More
Central India has lost four tigers in the past two and half weeks. The male tiger, 14-year old B2 who was a legend in Bandhavgarh national park, died yesterday after a territorial fight with another tiger. B2 was rescued on the 20th after being found with multiple injuries on his bodies and legs, but died on the way to Shahdol. A four to five year old male was trapped and killed in a wire snare just 500 feet from the … Read More
Several elephants die in India every year by electrocution. Some of these are electrocutions related to electric fences of farmers adjoining protected areas — like this one near Bhadra — or coming into contact with overhead power lines that hang lower than the regulation height above the ground.… Read More
Three elephants were electrocuted near Dudhwa Wildlife Sanctuary in Uttar Pradesh when a high tension electric wire fell on them. The 11,000 volt electric wire fell on the elephants when they uprooted an electric pole. The elephants were burnt alive. Forest officials are probing the deaths though, as these elephants had damaged agricultural produce and farmers had been demanding compensation from the government. The elephants will be examined in a post-mortem. … Read More
Hundreds of flamingos are dying of electrocution daily as they fly into high-voltage electricity cables on the outskirts of Bhavnagar city. The situation is made worse by stray dogs which attack these birds, causing the flock to take off in panic and hit the high-tension lines.
After Times of India reported the incident, officials visited the 300-hectare marsh on the outskirts of Bhavnagar on Sunday. Officials of Gujarat Energy Transmission Corporation Limited (GETCO) claim that there could be reasons … Read More
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