The electrocution of six elephants in Meghalava in India could have been caused by humans encroaching on their traditional foraging areas, according to reports.
Human presence in popular tourist destination Assam and also Meghalava have led to an increase in elephant encounters, which has resulted in deaths for both animals and humans in separate incidents.
Interest in Assam continues to grow, with visitors flocking to its natural and archeological sites such as the Umananda Temple and the Brahmaputra river.
Evidence of this tourist growth appeared yesterday, with the Indian Telegraph reporting that the government will make concessions in Assam for a new five-star hotel to be built.
Commenting on the incident, wildlife department spokesman Sunil Kumar told the BBC: "They [the elephants] got entangled in the live wires that ran loose as the posts were uprooted."
Both Assam and Meghalava are in India's "great elephant corridor" where the animals forage for food, but accidents often occur when they get scared by humans in the area.
