Two tuskers found dead in Odisha's Cuttack and Sundargarh districts

Bhubaneswar, Jan 25: Two tuskers were reported dead on Saturday in separate incidents in Odisha’s Cuttack and Sundargarh districts.

In Sundargarh, a tusker succumbed to severe injuries sustained during a suspected fight with another elephant inside the Kusumura reserve forest near Karuabahal village in the Ujjalpur range of the Sundargarh Forest Division (SFD). Elephant tracking squads first spotted the injured animal on Friday night. Despite efforts by SFD authorities and veterinary doctors to treat the elephant, it collapsed and died between 10 and 10:30 a.m. as preparations were being made to tranquilize it for wound cleaning and treatment.

Sundargarh Divisional Forest Officer (DFO) Pradeep Mirase stated that the tusker had likely wandered into Odisha from a neighboring forest in Chhattisgarh. A close examination by veterinary experts revealed that the animal died from deep, fatal wounds inflicted during a fight with another tusker around 4-5 days ago. Blood-stained, broken tusks of the deceased elephant were found nearby, supporting the findings.

In a separate incident, a tusker aged approximately 10-12 years was discovered dead in a garden near a gas office in Rangdaba, under Narasinghpur in Cuttack district. The circumstances leading to its death are under investigation by the authorities.