CUTTACK: A female elephant was found dead at Nuagarh section of Debabhuin reserve forest in Narasinghpur East Range of Athagarh forest division on Sunday.
Assistant conservator of forests Manoj Patra said the deceased elephant was around 40 years old and was suffering from old age-related aliments.
“The carcass was buried after postmortem. The report will help in ascertaining the exact cause of death,” he added.
Notably, this is the sixth elephant death in Narasinghpur East and West ranges in the last three months. Animal rights activist Saroj Kumar Sahu said, “It is alarming that six elephants, including a tusker, have died in just three months. While forest officials cite causes like poaching, accidents, illness, and infighting, the failure to arrest poachers and provide timely treatment to sick elephants is deeply troubling.”
He further alleged that delays in medical attention and the frequent discovery of decomposed carcasses in dense forest areas point to negligence on the part of forest staff. “Given these repeated incidents, the lives of elephants in the Athagarh forest division are increasingly at risk,” he added.
Athagarh divisional forest officer (DFO) JD Pati was unavailable for comments.
