BHUBANESWAR: In a shocking incident, Ramu, a popular elephant of Chandaka Wildlife Sanctuary died of suspected electrocution near Bharatpur forests on the city’s outskirts exposing the vulnerability of the scheduled species even in the state capital. It is the second such death in the state in the last 48 hours.
The 41-year-old jumbo belonging to Bharatpur reserve forest in Chandaka Wildlife Division, often found roaming in forests of Chandaka and Khurda, was quite familiar in the locality as he was the first tusker the Forest department had attempted to radio-collar in 2021 but failed.
Forest officials said Ramu’s carcass was found near the boundary wall of Chandaka near Bharatpur forests. Since a cut mark was found on the trunk of the carcass, forest officials suspect the tusker died of electrocution as such marks are often caused in cases of electrocution. Besides, the heart of the elephant was found to have turned dark during postmortem.
“A slum is located right next to the boundary, while there are also low tension (LT) lines nearby. The electrocution might have been a fallout of bushmeat hunting,” said a forest official from Chandaka Wildlife Division. A clear picture regarding exact cause of the death will emerge after the autopsy report is received from the veterinary team, he added.
Chandaka DFO Sarat Chandra Behera said a probe has been launched at divisional level following the incident. The joint task force and special task force of the Forest department will also investigate the incident separately, sources said.
The other elephant, an adult female, was electrocuted to death in a forest in Charadapasi village under Naktideul range of Rairakhol division in Sambalpur district on Sunday.
Odisha has earned the dubious distinction of being on top in electrocution death of jumbos. The state has lost 61 elephants to electrocution, making it the highest for any of the elephant-range states in the last five years between 2019-20 and 2023-24.