Mystery: at least 18 dead elephants found in India

At least 18 corpses of the elephant They were found in the jungle of the state of Assam, northeast of India, apparently because of a lightning in the midst of the strong storm that hit the region on Wednesday evening, according to local press.

The local deputy, Namely Goswami, indicated that presumably these animals died after lightning, during the storm, but without considering this as the only possibility, announced that a investigation about. The Minister of Forests of Assam, Parimal Suklabaidya, for his part, said that “it is very painful to see elephants die like this. But we have to wait for the post-mortem report to know the exact cause. “

Although most hypotheses point to the climate as the main culprit, other versions indicate that the elephants could have died as a result of a accidental or premeditated poisoning, recalling that in some parts of India there are incidents with farmers occupying forest areas and complaining that elephants destroy their crops.

In contrast, in other regions, elephants continue to be exploited in tourism activities and as labor.

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The Assamian government has already sent a team of veterinarians to the Bamuni hills region, where the bodies of elephants are specifically located. Some Indian media have broadcast images of the incident blurring the bodies of the dead animals, as a sign of respect.

It is estimated that this Asian country inhabits about 30,000 elephants. India is home to among the 50 and 60% of wild Asian elephants and about 20% of animals of this species that are domesticated worldwide, hence the great importance for the survival of the species.

In centuries past, the forests of India were literally full of elephants, so much so that the story goes that the Mongol emperor Jehangir he had 113,000 captive specimens throughout his empire.