Kandhamal: A pregnant elephant was shot dead allegedly by some poachers here in the district today.

The female elephant was found dead near a village under Baliguda forest division of Kandhamal district.

According to reports, the elephant moved to the human habitats after the cold wave continued to grip the district in recent days.

Locals alleged that the elephant was the target of the poachers in the past few days. As there was no safety measure taken for the pregnant jumbo by the forest department, the animal was easily targeted and killed on Wednesday.

However, the forest department refuted the locals' claim.

The cause behind the death of the female elephant will be ascertained after post-mortem report, said Belghar Ranger Mani Patra.

Recently, another female elephant was found dead near Taila village under Athagarh forest division on December 12 in Cuttack district. The body of the animal was found lying in a pool of blood.