Two More Elephant Carcasses Found in Odisha’s Keonjhar District
Elephant fatalities in India have increased due to dozens of reasons, including electrocution and poaching. Recently, two more elephant carcasses were found in Keonjhar district, Odisha, wildlife department officials reported. As to what caused these deaths, still remains a mystery; however, electrocution and poaching have been ruled out.
According to the officials, the carcasses of a 25-year-old female pachyderm and a calf were spotted by residents in Raba village under Bhuyan Juang Pidh Forest Range on July 19. It is suspected that these two were members of a herd that came to the village on the previous night in search of food.
The divisional forest office of Keonjhar, Swayam Mallick said,
Electrocution is ruled out as no 11 KV power line passes in that area. There is however a low-tension power line, but it is cabled. The deaths likely happened early morning. To find out the cause of death, we have sent samples of the carcasses to Centre for Wildlife Health at Odisha University of Agriculture and Technology in Bhubaneswar.
An investigation has been launched to determine the exact cause of these deaths. The officials are waiting for the autopsy report before arriving at any conclusion.
Two elephant carcasses were found in Keonjhar district of Odisha on July 20 although the cause of their death is still undetermined | Image: EPS
The state has witnessed several elephant deaths due to electrocution in the past one month. Dhenkanal, Ganjam and Angul districts have also lost four pachyderms after they came in contact with live wires in separate incidents.
As per the latest count, Odisha houses 1976 elephants, while the Keonjhar district is home to 50 wild elephants. If the mammals keep dying like this, the elephant population of the state could decline rapidly.
Rampant mining and stone quarrying in Odisha’s forests has dried and silted several natural streams, waterfalls, and rivulets, while destroying the elephant habitats in Keonjhar district, causing these gentle giants to wander into human settlements looking for food and water.
It is important that people and authorities maintain a safe environment for the elephants to roam around amid deteriorating habitats.
Via: Hindustan Times
