BERHAMPUR: Recovery of a tusker carcass, the fourth since July 2022, at Tarasingi forest in North Ghumusar division of Ganjam district on Thursday has put the forest officials in a fix.The carcass was spotted by some residents of nearby Manpur village. On being informed, a team of forest officials led by DFO Sudarsan Behera reached the spot to investigate the cause of the tusker’s death. Sources said no injury marks were found on the carcass and the tusks of the elephant too were intact. While the Forest department is yet to ascertain the cause of the tusker’s death, it is presumed it might have died of ailments relating to old-age or some other disease.
However, locals alleged the tusker was electrocuted by wires laid by poachers in the forest. Presence of Electricity department officials at the spot gave credence to the suspicion. The locals further questioned why the tusker was not spotted in the forest despite an elephant tracking device that was installed in the area.
Behera said a team from OUAT, Bhubaneswar reached the spot on the day to conduct autopsy of the carcass. The reason of the tusker’s death can only be ascertained after the autopsy report is received. In July last year, a tusker was found dead in the forest with both its tusks removed. In September, a female elephant was found dead while the carcass of a calf was recovered from the forest in December last year. While in the case of the tusker’s death, the Forest department arrested three persons and recovered both the tusks, officials said the female and the calf died of old-age and disease respectively.