Elephant found dead in Berhampur Forest Division: Forest officials

A five-year-old elephant with its tusks intact was found dead in Berhampur Forest Division in Ganjam district on Sunday, forest officers said. The carcass of the tusker was spotted on the outskirts of Meghajholi village under the jurisdiction of Digapahandi forest range, the officers said.

The carcass of the tusker covered in blood and had gunshot marks, the Divisional Forest Officer (DFO) of Berhampur Forest Division, A K Behera, said. "We suspect that the elephant was shot dead by some miscreants, but the exact cause will be known only after an autopsy is conducted," he said.

Since its tusks, each around one-and-a-half feet in length, are intact, professional poachers might not have been involved in the killing, the DFO said.

An investigation has been initiated to nab the poachers, he added. A herd of eight elephants, including two tuskers, had been roaming in the area for the last few months, and locals were worried fearing a possible attack, forest officials said.