Dibrugarh, Aug. 17: In the second such incident this month, a Bengal slow loris ( Nycticebus bengalensis) was found dead because of electrocution at Kumargaon near Jokai reserve forest, 13km from here, this morning.

According to sources, around 7am, local residents spotted the carcass hanging from a live wire outside the reserve forest.

On being informed, forest staff rushed to the spot and brought it down.

An autopsy was carried out at the veterinary hospital to ascertain the cause of death. It confirmed that the animal died of electrocution.

Raju Bharali, a local resident, told this correspondent that the animals come out at night in search of food. "Because of floods inside Jokai reserve forest, the animals come out and get electrocuted,'' he added.

On August 5, another slow loris was found dead near the forest. In the last survey carried out in 2010 , the population of slow loris in Jokai reserve forest was 12.

"We were informed about the death of a slow loris in the area. We went there and brought down the carcass that was dangling from a live wire. The animal had come out from the forest in search of food and was electrocuted,'' the forest ranger of Dibrugarh, Sanjib Bordoloi, said.

Nakul Khound, the co-ordinator of Irab Kirab, an NGO, said: "Two slow loris died in electrocution this month because of the forest deparment's negligence.''

Bengal slow loris is one of the eight recognised primate species listed as "vulnerable" in the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List.