BARIPADA: The forest officials of Mayurbhanj district on Sunday spotted the carcass of a nine-year-old tusker near Ambapani canal under Sapanchua beat in Dukura range of Subarnamanjari forest. The carcass is suspected to be two to three days old, said forest officials.
It is suspected that the sub adult elephant might have been part of 16-member herd which was roaming in Subarnamanjari forest for more than a month.
The forest officials, led by Assistant Conservator of Forest (ACF) Arun Kumar Patra and Dukura ranger Batakrushna Padhee, reached the spot with a team of veterinary surgeons. Padhee said the tusks of the elephant were intact and no external injury was noticed.
Baripada DFO Sanjay Kumar Swain said its blood samples have been sent for tests. “As blood was oozing from mouth and nose and the face had started decomposing, we suspect it is a case of deadly anthrax,” he said.
This was eighth elephant death in the district in a month and second in the forest. On November 3, the carcass of a female jumbo was found in a gorge in the same forest. In last December, an elephant had died of anthrax in Subarnamanjari forest. The viscera test conducted by Animal Diseases Research Institute at Cuttack had confirmed the presence of the anthrax organism in the elephant.