Elephant carcass with missing tusks found in Odisha’s Mayurbhanj (India)
Ashis Senapati, Down to Earth Magazine
January 8, 2021
See link
https://www.downtoearth.org.in/news/wildlife-biodiversity/elephant-carcass-with-missing-tusks-found-in-odisha-s-mayurbhanj-74969
for photo.
The carcass of a 25-year-old tusker, with missing tusks was found at a
village in Odisha’s Mayurbhanj district on the evening of January 7, 2021,
officials said.
The carcass was found at Kalamangadia village within Hadagada wildlife
range of the Baripada forest division in Mayurbhanj district.
Forest officials suspect that the animal might have been poached for ivory.
The animal appeared to have died more than a week before it was recovered.
This is the second unnatural elephant death in Odisha within a week as the
carcass of a 15-year-old female elephant was found January 1, 2021, in the
Tangi forest range of Khordha district.
Locals found the carcass and informed forest officials. A team rushed to
the spot and sent the carcass for an autopsy. Later it was buried by forest
officials.
Forest officials believe the dead elephant belonged to a herd that had been
roaming in the area recently. No external injuries were found that could
point to a cause of death, leading wildlife activists to suspect it was
killed by poisoning, a common tactic used by poachers.
“An investigation is underway. Stern action will be taken against those
found guilty in the case,” Santosh Joshi, the divisional forest officer of
Baripada said.
The Odisha forest department has drawn flak after the recovery of two
elephant carcasses in the state within a week. Locals have accused the
department of neglect and blamed the department for the deaths of the
elephants.
The region has witnessed several killings of locals as well as elephants
and widespread damage to houses and crops by rogue pachyderms in past years.
“Rampant mining in the forests of the state is the main reason behind the
destruction of elephant corridors and vital habitat essential for long
ranging species like Indian elephants,” Biswajit Mohanty, the secretary of
non-profit Wildlife Society of Odisha said.
https://www.downtoearth.org.in/news/wildlife-biodiversity/elephant-carcass-with-missing-tusks-found-in-odisha-s-mayurbhanj-74969
Elephant carcass with missing tusks found in Odisha’s Mayurbhanj (India)
Ashis Senapati, Down to Earth Magazine
January 8, 2021
See link
<https://www.downtoearth.org.in/news/wildlife-biodiversity/elephant-carcass-with-missing-tusks-found-in-odisha-s-mayurbhanj-74969>
for photo.
The carcass of a 25-year-old tusker, with missing tusks was found at a
village in Odisha’s Mayurbhanj district on the evening of January 7, 2021,
officials said.
The carcass was found at Kalamangadia village within Hadagada wildlife
range of the Baripada forest division in Mayurbhanj district.
Forest officials suspect that the animal might have been poached for ivory.
The animal appeared to have died more than a week before it was recovered.
This is the second unnatural elephant death in Odisha within a week as the
carcass of a 15-year-old female elephant was found January 1, 2021, in the
Tangi forest range of Khordha district.
Locals found the carcass and informed forest officials. A team rushed to
the spot and sent the carcass for an autopsy. Later it was buried by forest
officials.
Forest officials believe the dead elephant belonged to a herd that had been
roaming in the area recently. No external injuries were found that could
point to a cause of death, leading wildlife activists to suspect it was
killed by poisoning, a common tactic used by poachers.
“An investigation is underway. Stern action will be taken against those
found guilty in the case,” Santosh Joshi, the divisional forest officer of
Baripada said.
The Odisha forest department has drawn flak after the recovery of two
elephant carcasses in the state within a week. Locals have accused the
department of neglect and blamed the department for the deaths of the
elephants.
The region has witnessed several killings of locals as well as elephants
and widespread damage to houses and crops by rogue pachyderms in past years.
“Rampant mining in the forests of the state is the main reason behind the
destruction of elephant corridors and vital habitat essential for long
ranging species like Indian elephants,” Biswajit Mohanty, the secretary of
non-profit Wildlife Society of Odisha said.
https://www.downtoearth.org.in/news/wildlife-biodiversity/elephant-carcass-with-missing-tusks-found-in-odisha-s-mayurbhanj-74969
