Raigarh: A nearly 70-year female elephant has been found dead at a forest in Chhattisgarh's Raigarh district, with officials suspecting the jumbo died of age-related complications. The carcass was found on Saturday in the forest adjoining Gersa village under Dharamjaigarh forest division, an official said on Sunday.
Soon after being alerted, forest personnel rushed to the spot and the autopsy was conducted by a team of veterinarians, he said. Prime facie it seems the elephant died due to age-related complications. However, the exact cause of the death will be known once the autopsy report is received, the official said.
With this incident, six elephants have died in the district in the last four months, he added. Chhattisgarh has reported death more than 70 elephants in the last five years due to various causes including ailments, age and electrocution, officials said.
Earlier, on December 28 last year, a tusker died due to electrocution after getting in contact with an electric cable in a farm near Kurdeg village of Bagicha forest range in Chhattisgarh's Jashpur district, a forest official said.
A villager, Ravi Nagvanshi said, "A herd of four elephants was roaming around the village and they were damaging crops in the area for the last 2-3 days. In the meantime on Wednesday morning, we found an elephant dead in the farm field. The villagers have informed the forest department about the incident." Forest Range Officer, Ashok Singh said, "Four elephants from Surguja-Sitapur area have crossed from this area last night. Three elephants moved towards the Lundra region while one elephant died after getting in contact with electric wires." (With Agency Inputs)
