18th November 2017

The electrocution of a tigress in the Chimur forest range in Chandrapur district of Maharashtra on November 7 brings the tiger death toll due to electrocution in the Vidarbha area alone to five this year.

Why are tigers dying?

In a desperate attempt to prevent herbivores like nilgai (blue bulls) and wild boar from destroying their crops, farmers often set up illegal high-voltage electrical fences around their fields drawing power from electrical lines meant for home or agricultural use. Tigers, which use human-dominated landscapes including agricultural fields to move about, die when they come in contact with these fences. In some places, poachers erect live wiretraps using overhead 11 kv lines to kill animals, says Nitin Desai, director (central India) of the Wildlife Protection Society of India, an NGO that operates in the area. “This is fatal to any animal that comes in contact with it and is generally done at night,” he points out.

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