Mortality of the Endangered Asian elephant Elephas maximus by electrocution in Odisha, India

Abstract

Elephants are threatened globally by habitat loss, poaching and accelerating levels of human-elephant conflict. In the state of Odisha, east India, electrocution by domestic electric power lines is causing mortality of the Asian elephant Elephas maximus. We collated data on elephant mortality from such electrocution in the villages surrounding elephant habitat for a period of 12 years (2001)(2002)(2003)(2004)(2005)(2006)(2007)(2008)(2009)(2010)(2011)(2012). During this period 118 elephants were killed in 91 incidences. Most deaths (73.68%) were a result of accidental contact with electric power lines whilst elephants were moving into agricultural areas for crop raiding. The increasing human population, poor electrical infrastructure and ivory poaching pose serious threats to the continued survival of these elephants. To reduce elephant mortality from electrocution and to ensure the long-term survival of this population of elephants we recommend strengthening of the electrical infrastructure, minimizing habitat destruction, increasing public awareness of the problem, and stronger law enforcement.

Spatial Patterns of Primate Electrocutions in Diani, Kenya

“…This suggests variations in seasonal risk do not usually need to be factored into prioritization of areas for mitigation interventions in Diani. In contrast to our results, higher risk of electrocution is typically associated with wet seasons, as shown for raptors (Olendorff et al 1981 ), Asian elephants ( Elephas maximus : Palei et al 2014 ), and rhesus macaques ( Macaca mulatta : Kumar and Kumar 2015 ). A proposed explanation for elevated risk during the dry season in Diani is increased vegetation growth toward the start of the long dry season, resulting in increased contact between trees and power lines (Slade 2016 ).…”

Habitat suitability and connectivity inform a co-management policy of protected area network for Asian elephants in China

“…Also, crops in the forest matrix are attractive to the elephants, with 68% of feeding sites in such areas during the rainy season (Zhang et al, 2003). On the other hand, elephants suffer mortality at the hands of humans, both directly and indirectly, from ditch, electrocution, and retaliatory killing (Chen et al, 2013a; Palei et al, 2014; AsERSM, 2017). As a consequence, Asian elephants are less likely to occur near towns with dense human population, infrastructure, and plantation (Fig.…”

Peer Review #2 of "Habitat suitability and connectivity inform a co-management policy of protected area network for Asian elephants in China (v0.2)"

“…Also, crops in the forest matrix are attractive to the elephants, with 68% of feeding sites in such areas during the rainy season (Zhang et al, 2003). On the other hand, elephants suffer mortality at the hands of humans, both directly and indirectly, from ditch, electrocution, and retaliatory killing Palei et al, 2014;AsERSM, 2017). As a consequence, Asian elephants are less likely to occur near towns with dense human population, infrastructure, and plantation (Fig.…”

“…First, each model included variables that were not highly correlated ((|r|≤0.7) and that had a model contribution >5% and then step-wise optimized the β multiplier from to 15 at an increment of 0.5. Second, as MaxEnt calculates five models for each variable, known as features (i.e., linear (L), quadratic (Q), product (P), threshold (T), and hinge (H)) (Phillips et al, 2017), we selected feature sets by the lowest AIC among "L", "H", "LQ", "LQT", "LP", "HP", "LQP", and "LQTP", then used the optimized model to predict a habitat suitability map. The prediction was evaluated by threshold-independent (Area Under the Curve of the Receiver Operating Characteristic plot, AUC) and threshold-dependent omission rate.…”