Elephant carcass with injury marks found in paddy field in Odisha’s Keonjhar

The carcass of a female elephant with several wounds and injury marks on the body was found in a paddy field in Odisha’s Keonjhar district on Saturday.

The incident surfaced from Dadhei Sahi of Kantalei village under Khuntapada panchayat limits adjoining the Telkoi forest range of the district. 

The mutilated carcass of the elephant bore severe injury marks on her abdomen, back, and neck regions. While the exact cause of the wild animal’s death remains unclear, several speculations have surfaced.

Incidentally, the area recently witnessed several herds of more than 50 elephants destroying paddy fields. Extensive damage to crops was reported from the locality, leading to widespread discontent among local residents.

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Hence, the elephant carcass has triggered suspicions of human-elephant conflicts. However, the severity of the wounds suggests that the elephant may have died after clashing with a tusker.

Till the last reports came in, the Forest Department had not issued any statement regarding the death of the elephant.

The unfortunate scenario comes at a time when several areas of the state have reported elephant herds straying into human settlements and destroying paddy fields and crops.

On Wednesday, a herd of about 25 elephants strayed into the Padmapur subdivision of Bargarh and were spotted roaming around the Ghens range. Reports then stated that the tuskers destroyed hundreds of hectares of crops.

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Amid such incidents, the State Forest and Environment Minister Ganesh Ram Singh Khuntia recently highlighted the rising cases of human-elephant conflicts, stating that ‘elephant attacks have claimed 668 lives and injured 509 people in Odisha in the past three years’.