India, Nov. 17 -- A string of elephant deaths in Assam's Udalguri district, a vital transboundary corridor along the Bhutan border, has sparked growing alarm among forest authorities and wildlife experts.

In just the last 20 days, four wild elephants have died in the area - three from electrocution and one believed to have been poisoned. The toll over the past year has climbed to at least 14, with electrocution accounting for 10 of those deaths.

Officials warn that the situation is deteriorating rapidly in a landscape already pressured by widespread encroachment, shrinking habitats and an intensifying human-elephant conflict, calling the pattern of fatalities a sign of a deepening crisis.

According to Udalguri Divisional Forest Officer...