Jumbo carcass found in Deogarh, tusks missing

BHUBANESWAR: Two weeks after seven elephants were electrocuted at Kamalanga in Odisha's Dhenkanal district, the carcass of a jumbo was found in Khamar range of Deogarh forest division. Both its tusks were missing.
Officials of the forest department said the carcass was at least two-day old. It has been sent for postmortem. "The elephant will be no less than 20 years of age. There was neither any visible external injury mark on its body nor any electrocution mark anywhere. But the tusks had been removed," Kartik Chandra Samantray, divisional forest officer (Deogarh), said.

The carcass was found around 7km from human habitation in an area that cannot be called a deep forest. The late recovery of the carcass has raised questions about the efficacy of the forest department personnel patrolling the area. "Despite being fully aware that it is a sensitive area, the forest officials were not vigilant. The incident has taken place in an accessible area further exposing the apathy of the department," Biswajit Mohanty, secretary, Wildlife Society of Odisha (WSO), alleged. He added that the missing tusks clearly point to the involvement of professional poachers in the incident.