Shillong : In yet another tragic incident triggered by negligence of the authorities, a female adult Western Hoolock Gibbon, was found electrocuted at Gandrak Dare village in Meghalaya’s West Garo Hills district on Saturday, wildlife officials said.
The Hoolock Gibbon touched the raw live electric wire, which was not insulated, leading to the immediate death of the endangered animal, Divisional Forest Officer East and West Garo Hills (Wildlife) Division, Rupankar Marak said.
Marak said this is the second time that an adult Hoolock Gibbon was electrocuted in the last one and a half years in the area.
Hoolock Gibbon is a highly endangered species as these gibbons dwell on trees and their movement involves jumping and swinging between branches using their forelimbs.
“We have requested the Meghalaya Energy Corporation Limited (MeECL) several times for laying underground insulated cables through forest areas to prevent the Hoolock Gibbons from touching the live wires, but yet to reciprocate to our request,” he said.
In fact, village authorities of Upper Chnadmari, Adinggre and Gandrak Dare have been complaining against the power lines passing through the route as far back as 2021, but the MeECL did not pay heed.
Western Hoolock Gibbon is listed among the 25 most endangered primates in the world. The species is classified as endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and as a schedule 1 species by the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972.
The gibbon is found in all the northeastern states as well as in parts of Bangladesh and Myanmar.
