Morada/Betanoti: Elephant deaths continue unabated in the state as forest officials Monday recovered a decomposed carcass of a jumbo calf from the Asanbani reserved forest near Bhadrashola village under Betanoti forest range and Morada block of Mayurbhanj district. The animal within one year of age is suspected to have died a week back, a forest official said. Sources said that a 45-member herd of elephants from Jharkhand had unleashed terror in the area for quite some days after straying into the Betanoti forest range.
Meanwhile, locals spotted the decomposed carcass lying in the jungle, Monday. On being informed, ACF Rabi Narayan Mohanty, DFO Santosh Joshi, Betanoti forest ranger Ghanashyam Singh, forester Sobhakar Singh rushed to the spot and launched an investigation. Locals questioned how the forest officials could remain unaware of the elephant death when it has been lying dead in the jungle for over a week.