Bhubaneswar: The staff of Asadola forest beat on Sunday recovered a decomposed elephant carcass in the Talabandha wildlife range of Similipal Tiger Reserve (STR) on Sunday. The carcass was without tusks.
According to sources, the jumbo, aged around 40 years, had succumbed to bullet injuries roughly 20 days back and unidentified poachers had taken away its tusks. The carcass was in an advanced stage of decomposition.
The deputy director of the STR (north) division Sai Kiran and the veterinary assistant surgeon of Manada visited to the spot for verification on Sunday. The field director of STR T Ashok Kumar along with two other veterinarians inspected the spot and performed an autopsy of the carcass.
However, the mouth and bony socket of the carcass were not damaged. The tusks were forcefully removed by the poachers. The Forest department has engaged a special team with a dog squad and a joint task force to investigate the elephant’s death and recover the tusks.
Sources said the incident took place when the Forest department was keeping a close watch on poachers and protection measures in the national park which has been in news for increased poaching.
In December, an in-charge range officer, a forester and a forest guard of Jenabil range under STR south were arrested for destroying evidence by burning the carcasses of an elephant under Gurandi beat.
