Nayagarh: An injured elephant, which was undergoing treatment in Ranpur Forest Range of Odisha’s Nayagarh district, died on Wednesday morning.
The tusker was being treated by a veterinary team from Nandankanan Zoological Park for a wound on its leg suspected to have been caused caused from a bullet fired by a poacher. It was tranquillised and administered medicines. It, however, developed an infection which led to its death, sources said.
The exact reason behind the injuries is still unclear.
Locals had spotted the injured animal near Kanchanpur village under this range on Saturday. It was alleged that the forest department took no immediate action despite being informed about it. Since it was too weak to feed on its own, they had also expressed concern over its survival.
On Tuesday an elephant died after being hit by a truck while crossing National Highway-49 in Keonjhar district. A five-year-old male elephant also succumbed to electrocution on Monday night in the Rasol forest area in Dhenkanal.