A male elephant died after it ran into the electric fence at Haripur-5 in Sunsari on Friday. The elephant was caught up in the electric fence surrounding a banana plantation belonging to Dhirendra Kherwar. The site is one-and-a-half kilometres south of the East-West Highway.

According to Jhaulai Chaudhary, assistant conservation officer at the Koshi Tappu Wildlife Reserve (KTWR), the elephant might have strayed from the herd while searching for food at night and ended up at the plantation. KTWR officials said they found marks indicating electric shock on the trunk of the elephant. As it is illegal to kill elephants, they would record the statements of local people after establishing the cause of its death through autopsy. KTWR officials said they will bury the elephant after autopsy.

The elephant was approximately 40 years old and did not have tusks, Ganga Urau, a mahout at the KTWR, said. There are 11 wild elephants in the conservation area that roam around adjoining 

villages at night in search of food. Farmers in Haripur had started using electric fences to save their 

crops from wild animals straying out of the conservation area.