Kaonjhar: A wild elephant was found dead with several wounds and injury marks on the body in a paddy field in Telkoi area of Odisha’s Keonjhar district on Saturday.
Sources said the carcass of the female elephant, aged around six years, was spotted by locals at Dadhei Sahi of Kantalei village under Khuntapada panchayat close to Telkoi forest range.
Locals said the jumbo carcass had severe injury marks on the abdomen, back, and neck parts.
While the exact reason behind the death of the wild animal is yet to be ascertained, Forest department officials are conducting a probe into the incident.
Notably, standing crops in the area were extensively damaged recently by several herds of more than 50 elephants in the recent past, causing resentment among villagers.
Therefore, the death of the elephant under mysterious circumstances has triggered suspicions possible involvement of angry locals. Possibility of the death caused by a fight with a tusker cannot be ruled out too, sources said.
After getting information about the incident, Forest department officials rushed to the site. Efforts are on to ascertain the circumstances that led to the death of the animal.