Sonepur: In unabated jumbo casualties in Odisha, a wild elephant died of electrocution near Mahada village under Binika area of Sonepur district on Tuesday.
The elephant died reportedly after coming in contact with a live electric wire fence laid for poaching wild boar in the area.
After getting information, forest department officials rushed to the site and launched an investigation into the incident.
Sources said the animal died due to electrocution and the forest officials have seized the electric wire trap which was laid across 1 km in the area.
Voicing concern over the incident, local residents sought concrete steps by the forest department to curb the activities of poachers in the area.
It may be noted here that as many as 784 elephants have died in the state in the last 10 years. A total of 11 wild elephants were killed by poachers during 2022-23, official sources said.
As per the last census conducted in 2017, there are a total of 1,976 elephants in Odisha.
