Keonjhar: Forest officials recovered the carcass of a female elephant calf, aged between 2 and 3 months, in Jharbeda reserve forest near Kudbil village in Telkoi range on Friday.
Forest officials said the calf may have died due to illness, though the exact cause and time of death are yet to be ascertained. A veterinary team examined the carcass and indicated some disease as the likely cause of death. Joint task force (JTF) has launched an investigation into the incident. Following post-mortem, the remains were buried on Saturday morning.
"Blood samples were sent to the Centre for Wildlife Health, Bhubaneswar for testing," said Dhanaraj H D, divisional forest officer, Keonjhar.
Sources said a two-year-old elephant calf died two weeks ago in the same range. Telkoi forest range houses 58 elephants divided into two herds — one comprising 40 elephants and another 18. Officials said the deceased calf belonged to the larger group. Both herds are presently moving in the Bimla section of Bandhan Jhari reserve forest.