Elephant carcass found in Similipal

BARIPADA: The carcass of an elephant was found in Similipal National Park on Saturday.
The elephant was around four to five years old. The carcass was spotted at Pahad near a forest route between Kendumundi and Kandadhenu. Assistant Conservator of Forest (ACF) Batakrushna Padhy said patrolling staff of Kendumundi range found the ailing elephant lying near the forest route on Friday.
They tried to reach the elephant but failed as a herd was surrounding it. The animal was found dead on Saturday.

A forest official, Banamali Sahu, was injured when he tried to separate the elephant from the herd. Later, Padhy, along with other forest officials, drove the herd from the spot. 
Veterinary doctors Lingaraj Mohanta and Khainin Changmai along with Karanjia DFO Prasanna Behera rushed to the spot and conducted autopsy on the carcass. As per preliminary reports, it is suspected that the elephant died of diarrhoea. The samples collected from the carcass by the Veterinary team have been sent to OUAT, Bhubaneswar for analysis.