ROURKELA: A 65-year-old man was caught in a fight between two male tuskers and hurled to death near Ergeda village under Lathikata block on Sunday.
The incident took place close to the Banki forest under Panposh range of Rourkela Forest Division (RFD). The deceased was identified as Mangra Kujur of Ergeda village.
Forest department sources said a herd of 23 elephants entered the village, around 20 km from Rourkela, on Saturday evening. Two tuskers began fighting on a field. While the rest of the herd was guided safely into the nearby Banki forest, the duel continued through the night.
Panposh range officer (RO) Suchismita Das said the fight began around 7 pm on Saturday. Despite repeated warnings from forest teams, villagers, some even accompanied by children, crowded around the spot, creating disturbances and provoking the animals. The tuskers also did not respond to torchlight flashes, noise or other elephant-driving measures.
On Sunday morning, villagers again gathered to watch the fight. At around 5.30 am one tusker suddenly charged and killed Kujur, who was standing close by. Residents said the tusker lifted Kujur with its trunk and hurled him into the air, killing him.
Das said after nearly 13 hours of intermittent fighting, one tusker retreated into the nearby forest around 8 am, while the other remained in a bushy patch near the forest edge. By 6.30 pm, both tuskers were spotted separately on the village outskirts.
She added that both elephants appeared to be in musth, a period of heightened aggression and reproductive drive during which tuskers often display violent behaviour. The elephants are under strict surveillance and no visible injuries have been observed so far. Villagers are being repeatedly warned to stay indoors, she added.
Kujur’s body was retrieved once the elephants moved away and was sent for postmortem. This is the third human fatality from elephant attacks in a month in Lathikata block.