An adult elephant and its calf were electrocuted by an illegally electrified fence near a paddy field in Odisha’s Dhenkanal district on Saturday, prompting an investigation into the unauthorised use of electricity to protect crops from wildlife. One person has been detained in connection with the deaths.
The elephants came into contact with a live wire near Kamakhyanagar, around 15 km from Dhenkanal town. Preliminary findings indicated that part of a solar fence installed around a farmer’s field had been illegally connected to an electricity supply. Forest officials suspect the trap may have been intended to kill wild animals for meat.
Dhenkanal divisional forest officer Lalit Patra said the adult female and its calf had become separated from their herd and were moving through the area when they encountered the wire. “Post-mortem has been conducted and the report is awaited. We are investigating how the fence was electrified and who was responsible,” Patra said.
The incident has brought renewed attention to the risks created when crop-protection fencing is connected unlawfully to electricity. Solar fences are intended to deter animals from entering fields, but an unauthorised connection can turn them into lethal traps. The latest deaths also raise questions about how such installations are monitored across areas where farms and elephant movement routes overlap.
The Dhenkanal deaths came days after a 20-year-old tusker was electrocuted near Similipal Tiger Reserve under the Baripada forest division. Officials said the elephant accidentally touched an unregulated solar fence around a paddy field. That fence had reportedly been illegally connected to an electricity supply to prevent crop damage.
The incidents have also exposed a direct risk to people guarding fields. On October 31, a farmer and his son were electrocuted while protecting crops from wild animals in a paddy field at Hirapur village under Nachuni police limits in Khurda district. The deaths indicate that unauthorised fencing can endanger both wildlife and residents who work or move through agricultural areas.
Wildlife activist Biswajit Mohanty has urged authorities to strengthen coordination between the forest and energy departments. He called for an automatic power-failure mechanism that would cut electricity when high-tension lines are illegally tapped to energise fences. Such a mechanism, he said, could address the electrical risk at the point where an unauthorised connection is detected.
Forest officials are investigating how the fence near Kamakhyanagar was connected to electricity and who was responsible. The post-mortem report on the two elephants is awaited, while the detained person remains part of the ongoing probe.
