Bhubaneswar: The death of a rare elephant in the forests of Satkosia on Monday has come as a huge setback for nature lovers in Odisha.
1. Government data reveals that on an average, the state has been losing around 70 elephants every year.
2. Poaching, electrocution, train and road accidents are being attributed as primary reasons for the deaths, while deaths due to natural causes is negligible. Only 40 of the 720 deaths were reported because of natural causes in the last 10 years.
3. During the last financial year, the state reported 87 deaths, the highest in a decade.
4. According to the Down to Earth magazine, death of adult breeding male elephants was the highest in Odisha when it comes to life lost because of unnatural causes. The magazine went on to describe Odisha as a “graveyard” state for elephants.
5. For the latest death incident in Satkosia, residents blamed laxity by forest officials, alleging that they did not treat the animal when it was ailing for quite sometime.
6. An investigation is being carried out but the allegations have been found true. The state government has to own up responsibility and fix the issue.
