Four elephants electrocuted in Odisha

In a suspected case of poaching, at least four elephants were found electrocuted in Odisha’s Ganjam district, Forest department sources said today.

The animals died after coming in contact with electric wires apparently laid by poachers.

Forest personnel recovered the carcasses of a 35-year-old female elephant and its two-month-old male calf from a cashew jungle in Kanakhai jungle under Khallikote forest range this morning.

The incident took place close on the heels of death of two elephants, including a calf at Gallery forest range in the district yesterday.

After the death of the pachyderms, the poachers cut some of the leg portions of the female elephant and tried to bury the animals to hide the evidence.

Their attempt, however, failed when the forest staff reached on the spot, divisional forest officer (DFO) Berhampur S S Mishra said.

Though injury marks due to electric shock were visible on the calf, the exact cause of the death could only be ascertained after post mortem, DFO said. Forest personnel, however, did not find any electric wire from the spot.

It was the third such incident within ten-days, where the poachers killed at least five elephants, including two calves and a tusker.

While a female elephant and its six-month-old calf were found dead in cashew jungle near Karadabani in Gallery forest range in Ghumusara (North) forest division yesterday, a tusker was electrocuted in Karchuli jungle under Buguda forest range on September 26 last.

The poachers had taken a portion of its tusk, which was recovered by the forest officials recently.

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