Narasinghpur: An ailing tusker died after it battled for life for three days at Chandragiri reserve forest on the fringes of Guptamanik village under Narsinghpur east forest circle range in Cuttack district Saturday.
While no exact reason was cited, forest officials suspected it was injured following a clash between two jumbo herds.
Locals noticed the tusker lying on the road near Mahulmada village writhing in pain. On being informed, forest officials led by assistant conservator of forests (ACF) Purna Chandra Guru, east circle ranger Abhiram Jena rushed to the spot and started treatment of the ailing animal with the help of veterinarians. However, the health condition of the tusker deteriorated due to loss of excessive blood after which it breathed its last.
Forest officials recovered two ivories- 75cm and 80cm of the tusker that was later handed over to Athgarh DFO office.
The post-mortem of the tusker was then conducted and it was buried in the forest in presence of ranger Abhiram Jena, forester Baman Rout, BVO Bijay Kumar Senapati and other forest officials.
While locals suspected that a poacher might have shot the tusker to take its ivory, forest officials denied the rumours. On the other hand, locals accused the forest officials of stopping regular patrolling in the forests due to the presence of Sundari tigress of Satkosia sanctuary in Narsinghpur forest.
According to villagers, pachyderms frequent the villages on the fringes of the forests regularly during daytime over last few days and causing significant damage to their crops on their farmlands.
However, the forest officials have not done anything to alleviate their fear. When contacted, the ACF Purna Chandra Guru said the condition of the animal deteriorated and it died while being provided with treatment.
PNN
