Elephant calf found dead in Hadagarh wildlife sanctuary in Odisha’s Keonjhar; probe on

Anandapur: The carcass of a male jumbo calf was spotted yesterday by some Forest personnel in Hadagarh wildlife sanctuary at Anandapur in Keonjhar district.

According to an official source, age of the calf would be around five to six years. The young pachyderm was found by forest watchers at Masaghati under Kathakata section in the sanctuary. Later, the staff informed this to their department higher-ups, including Anandapur divisional forest officer (DFO) and Hadagarh ranger for necessary steps at their end.

On being informed, senior forest officials reached the spot and initiated a probe to ascertain the reason behind the elephant calf’s death. The carcass was recovered and a post-mortem was done today.

Following the post-mortem, the mortal remains were buried in the forest.

“We suspect that the elephant calf might have been killed due its confrontation with a tusker. However, the exact cause of death can be confirmed only after a report comes in,” a forest staff said.