A female adult Hoolock Gibbon was found electrocuted at Gandrak Dare village in Meghalaya’s West Garo Hills district on October 14, officials said.
The Hoolock Gibbon touched an unprotected live electric wire, leading to its immediate death, divisional forest officer East & 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.
“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 in vain,” 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 even then, the MeECL did not pay heed to their request.
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.
