Captive Elephant Kharsel Dies In Odisha’s Debrigarh Sanctuary At 65

Bhubaneswar: Kharsel, a 65-year-old captive elephant, died at Debrigarh Sanctuary under Hirakud Wildlife Division in Odisha.

The male elephant, which had been in captivity for many years, died due to old age on Monday, a senior Forest department official said on Tuesday.

Kharsel’s movement had become slow over the past five to six months, and it had stopped eating and drinking. The elephant was tranquillized and brought to Debrigarh from Balangir’s Kharsel forest in 1998 after it attacked and killed several people.

The sanctuary staff had been taking care of Kharsel, but its health had been deteriorating due to its advanced age. The exact cause of death is yet to be determined.

As per Forest department officials, Kharsel became a legendary animal after being captured in Balangir. Before its capture, Kharsel had been wreaking havoc in the region, attacking numerous people, damaging crops, and destroying thousands of houses.

The Forest department faced significant challenges in taming the unruly pachyderm, which had become a dominant force in the area for over a decade.

It became partially blind while capture and a number of times it tried to escape from Mahout while it was comparatively young during 2005-2009. Since 2018-19, its movement inside Debrigarh Sanctuary was gradually restricted by the department. It was only limited to walking up to reservoir for bath as Kharsel started facing problems in muscles, foot pain, blurred vision etc.