Deogarh: After battling for life for five days, a tusker died at Asurkhol village under Tileibani block in this district Saturday night.
During post-mortem, an arrowhead was found in its brain. Enraged locals claimed that negligence of forest officials and delay in treatment led to the pachyderm’s death. A team of veterinarians from Bhubaneswar-based Orissa University of Agriculture and Technology (OUAT) had visited the spot Friday but failed to carry out treatment as the tusker was comatose, it was learnt.
The tusker, apparently shot by poachers, was left battling for life since Tuesday night. The pachyderm got separated from its herd and was spotted lying in a canal. On seeing a festering wound near its ear, locals alerted the forest officials.
Thereupon, DFO Karthik Chandra Samantaray, additional forester Suresh Chandra Sethy, forester Mahendra Sahu and additional livestock inspector Sameer Kumar Sahu along with fire brigade personnel reached the village and took stock of the situation.
Fire brigade personnel with the help of a crane lifted the animal out of the canal after three hours of efforts. The tusker was administered medicines and saline drips. However, its condition kept deteriorating and finally led to its death Saturday night.
Post-mortem of the carcass was carried out in the presence of Tileibani veterinarian Dr. Satyabrata Mishra and the additional livestock inspector. An eight inch-long arrowhead was removed the tusker’s brain.
Later, the carcass was buried at the spot. Five elephants have died in the area in the last four months. Locals demanded a high-level investigation into
the incident. PNN
