Carcass of an elephant, aged about 20 years, was found near Ostapala village under Dhenkanal Forest Range on Sunday. The local villagers spotted the elephant’s body in the morning and informed the Forest Department officials.
A team of forest officials reached the spot and seized the carcass of the jumbo. An investigation into the death of the wild animal has started.
Though the exact cause of the death of the elephant is yet to be ascertained, it is suspected that the wild animal might have died due to suspected food poisoning.
As there is no electric wire in the nearby area and the tusks of the elephant are intact, some local people are of the opinion that the elephant might have died due to food poisoning. Forest officials did not rule out the role of the locals to keep the elephants away from damaging their crops.
However, as per the ranger exact reason behind the death of the elephant will be ascertained only after post-mortem.
(Reported by Rajashree Satapathy)