Hindol: The carcass of a tusker, believed to have been electrocuted, was recovered from a bush in the Denguri jungle of Hindol forest range in Dhenkanal district Friday morning.
After getting information from the locals, forest officials rushed to the spot and launched an investigation.
It has been alleged that some villagers had laid live electric wires in a bid to hunt wild boars. While two boars were caught in the trap, unfortunately the pachyderm also got caught in the trap and lost its life, a local said. The poachers early Friday morning fled after collecting the dead boars, leaving the dead jumbo behind, he added.
“When we reached here, we saw only the carcass of the tusker. We did not find boars, so it is difficult to ascertain the actual reason behind the laying of such live wires in the middle of the jungle,” said another villager Abani Samal.
“Moreover, this elephant was causing nuisance in the village for quite some time,” he added.
Locals alleged that the pachyderm had made frequent visits to the village and destroyed standing crops. Despite repeated complaints, the forest officials paid no heed and took no steps to drive it away into the forest. Unfortunately, it lost its life due to the negligence of the forest department, locals added.
Electrocution is one of the major causes of elephant deaths in the state. Similar cases have been reported from various parts of Odisha every now and then. The frequency of animal-human conflict has increased over the years damaging the elephant habitat and many elephants are killed every year by accidental electrocution or train hits.
PNN
