5 elephants believed killed by lightning in east India

Forest guards on Friday found the bodies of five wild elephants, including two calves, that were apparently killed by lightning in eastern India, an environmental group said.

The elephants were discovered close to a salt lick on the banks of the Raidak River near the village of Kumargram, some 800 kilometers (500 miles) north of Calcutta, said Animesh Basu of the Himalayan Nature and Adventure Foundation, a local non-governmental organization.

"Preliminary findings suggest that the elephants were killed by lightning," Basu said. An autopsy was being done to determine the exact cause of death, he said.

"Though it is rare for elephants _ or for that matter any animal _ to die of lightning, in this case the guards found all the five elephants dead in a sitting position," Basu said.

"Had they been poisoned, their bodies would have been scattered and not at one place," said Basu, adding that the area they were found in was open without trees.

Basu said 16 other elephants had been killed in the region in the last year, including some that were hit by trains.