A female elephant was found dead with bone remains inside Jharaberni Reserved Forest near Jharaberni village under the Kundheigola Section of Riamal Range on the night of 21 August 2026.
Information about the incident was received at 10:35 pm from the Forester of Kundheigola Section. Senior forest officials, including the Assistant Conservator of Forests (Administration), the Range Officer of Riamal, forest staff, the Rapid Response Team (RRT), and the forest squad of Riamal Range, immediately rushed to the spot.
A preliminary investigation suggests that the death was likely due to natural causes. The exact cause will be confirmed after a postmortem examination is conducted by experts from the College of Wildlife Health (CWH), Odisha University of Agriculture and Technology (OUAT), Bhubaneswar.
The team that visited the site included:
Swadhinata Sahani, ACF (Administration); Niranjan Dhrua, Range Officer, Riamal; Sanjib Kumar Patra, Block Veterinary Officer, Riamal, along with two additional veterinarians; Rajesh Rajak, Range Officer from the office of the Regional Chief Conservator of Forests, Rourkela Circle; Sudhiraj Lenka, Wildlife Biologist, Debagada Forest Division; Manmath Behera, Forester, Kundheigola Section; Purna Chandra Dhal, Forester, RRT Team; forest guards of the RRT Team; and forest squads of Riamal Range.
