Athmallik: An elephant’s carcass was recovered from a paddy field at Mundapada village under Athmallik block in Angul district Sunday morning.
The matter came to the fore after villagers spotted the carcass and alerted the forest officials.
According to the preliminary investigation, the tusker died due to electrocution after coming in contact with a live wire while it had strayed to feast on crops Saturday night.
After getting information, forest officials rushed to the spot and started an investigation into the matter. The reason of the electrocution of the pachyderm remained unclear as forest officials seized the body and buried it after performing the autopsy.
While some claimed it to be the handiwork of some poachers who might have spread electric wires for trapping wild boars, locals said that the elephant came in contact with a low-lying snapped electric wire and was electrocuted.
According to reports, at least six elephants have been electrocuted in Angul district since September 2017.
Electrocution due to unattended wires is quickly becoming a widespread cause of elephant deaths in the state. Both human beings and animals are becoming frequent victims to shocks by uninsulated electric wires.
Electrocution has claimed the lives of 167 elephants since 2000. 77 such death cases were reported between 2000 and 2010, while the number of deaths climbed to 90 in the last eight years.
A few days back, another elephant has died of electrocution after falling in a trap of electric wires laid by poachers to catch boars. The repeated reports of elephant deaths have spread outrage among the locals who blamed the forest officials of failing to keep track of the movements of the big animals.
PNN
