BARIPADA/BERHAMPUR: The carcass of a newborn elephant calf was recovered from Kanjia Kunda forest under Rasgobindpur range of Baripada division in Mayurbhanj district on Thursday.
Rasgovindpur range officer Ghanashyam Singh said a forest guard on patrol duty spotted the carcass at around 2 pm. On being informed, Baripada divisional forest officer (DFO) Govinda Chandra Biswal, ACF Meherban Ali and other forest staff reached the spot for investigation.
DFO Biswal said the carcass is estimated to be about 5-10 days old. “We believe the calf died at the time of birth. However, the exact cause of death will be known after the postmortem report arrives,” he added.
Similarly, the carcass of a leopard cub was found near Bajrakote village under North Ghumusur forest division in Ganjam district on Wednesday afternoon.
At around 4 pm, some kids playing near the school in Bajrakote village spotted the carcass lying near a bush and raised an alarm. On receiving information, DFO Himanshu Sekhar Mohanty along with a team reached the spot for investigation.
The DFO said the cub is believed to around one-year-old. It might have died due to some illness as the carcass had no injury marks. However, the exact cause of death will be ascertained after the autopsy report arrives. The carcass was buried after postmortem on Thursday evening.