Deogarh: A female elephant was found dead near Khilaberini village under Reamal forest range in Odisha’s Deogarh on Thursday.
According to sources, locals spotted the carcass in an orange orchard and informed forest officials.
From the preliminary investigation, it is suspected that the pachyderm might have died after coming in contact with a live wire.
On Tuesday, the Orissa High Court had termed 2022 as probably the worst possible year for elephants in forests of Odisha while expressing concern over the concealment of elephant poaching and the burning of its carcass by three forest officials in Similipal Tiger Reserve of Mayurbhanj.
According to information received under the Right to Information (RTI) Act, more than 400 elephants died in Odisha’s forests in the last five years, due to disease, accidents, and electrocution, causing nearly a fifth of those deaths.
It further revealed that more than half of those 61 deaths were caused by “deliberate acts” of electrocution by poachers.
Odisha government has formed three elephant reserves – Mayurbhanj, Mahanadi, and Sambalpur – covering 8,508.95 square kilometres for the protection and conservation of the elephants. Besides, it has constituted five elephant corridors for the smooth movement of the herds of elephants.
Railway authorities have also been requested the provision of overpasses and underpasses required for the movement of elephants to prevent their death due to train accidents.
Notably, the elephants – 344 male, 1,092 female, 38 unknown sex, and 502 young – were found in at least 38 of the total 50 forest and wildlife divisions of the state in the last census of 2017.
