Elephant Calf Found Dead In Odisha’s Athagarh

Cuttack: A day after three tuskers were rescued from a nullah of Athagarh Forest Division, a baby elephant was found dead on Monday at Sorishapal Reserve Forest under Jenapada beat of the same division in Odisha’s Cuttack.

Officials from Athagarh Forest Division and veterinarians have reached the spot and are probing.

According to Forest Department sources, the deceased wild elephant must be of five to six years of age and as there are no injury marks on the body and both the teeth of the tusker are also intact, the post-mortem report will ascertain the actual cause of death.

The department also scanned the surrounding area and found there were no electric wires in 100 metre radius of the place where the dead elephant was found ruling out the possibility of electrolocution death.

“What we can make out looking at the body is the elephant died recently. There are no injury marks including injury caused due to electrocution either. The elephant may have died of some disease which we will know only when the post-mortem report is available,” Athagarh District Forest Officer (DFO) Jagyandatt Pati told media.

It is pertinent to mention here that Forest personnel had on Sunday in a joint operation with police and Fire services rescued three tuskers trapped in a muddy pool under Badamba Range of Athagarh Forest Division.