Tusker found dead in Ganjam’s reserve forest, poaching suspected

A carcass of a tusker was recovered from the Baniaapalli Reserve Forest under the Mujagada Range in the North Forest Division of Ganjam district on Saturday.

The exact cause of death is yet to be ascertained. However, as a large amount of blood was found near the body, forest officials suspect the elephant may have been poached.

Upon receiving the information, Divisional Forest Officer (DFO) Himanshu Sekhar Mohanty rushed to the spot along with departmental staff to take stock of the situation. 

The DFO stated that the exact cause of the elephant’s death will be determined after a team from the Joint Task Force (JTF) in Bhubaneswar arrives and conducts a post-mortem.

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Preliminary observations suggest that the elephant might have died around two days ago. It is also common knowledge that these majestic animals are often killed for their tusks, further exacerbating the situation.

This unfortunate incident comes at a time when multiple regions of the state have witnessed elephant herds straying into human settlements, causing damage to paddy fields and crops.

Earlier in January this year, at least two tuskers were found dead in Cuttack and Sundargarh districts, respectively.