Carcass Of Tusker Found In Odisha’s Sundargarh

Sundargarh: Amid back-to-back jumbo deaths in Odisha, another carcass of a tusker was found in Tunguri forest under Banki forest range in Odisha’s Sundargarh district on Saturday.

According to sources, locals spotted the carcass and informed forest officials.

On being informed, forest department officials along with the Rourkela DFO, ACF and ranger arrived at the spot for an investigation into the matter. The cause of death is yet to be ascertained.

“We are still unsure of the cause of the elephant’s death. After receiving the postmortem report, it will be clear and we will conduct an inquiry,” the DFO told mediapersons.

Odisha is among states to have reported very high number of deaths of elephants by electrocution in India. At least 741 such deaths were reported in the country in 10 years till December 2020. Of those, Odisha accounted for a maximum 133 deaths.

At least 22 elephants have died, majority of them believed to be due to poaching, in Odisha since June this year. Four unnatural deaths of elephants were reported in the last five days in different places. In June, eight elephants were found dead and seven each in July and August, sources said.