Thakurmunda/Anandapur: A tusker was found dead near Salachua village under Karanjia forest division and Satkosia Wildlife Sanctuary in Mayurbhanj district Tuesday morning.
Though the cause of the death remains unclear, a special team arrived from Baripada in the afternoon to probe the incident. A post-mortem of the carcass was conducted at Thakurmunda Veterinary hospital.
Officials, including Karanjia divisional forest officer (DFO) Srikant Nayak, ACF Madanmohan Mahanta, Satkosia range offi cer Rabindranath Mahanta, and other forest staffers reached the spot and are investigating the incident.
The dead tusker is estimated to be around 10 years old. The Forest department has stated that the exact cause of death will be ascertained after the post-mortem report is received.
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According to reports, the tusker had been roaming alone in Salachua forest area for the last few days. The elephant had come to the pond behind the panchayat office to drink water around 7am Tuesday.
However, around 9am, locals found the elephant dead a few metres away from the pond and informed the Forest department.
As the elephant had been in seemingly good health and was roaming normally just days prior, locals grew suspicious about its sudden death.
PNN
