Young Tusker Dies in Fierce Fight with Rival in Odisha Forest

Forest officials recovered the body of a young tusker elephant from Betanasia forest under Nakuchua panchayat in the Rasagobindpur range on Saturday.

The elephant, estimated to be around 8 years old, was found dead beside a forest-adjacent road.

Preliminary investigations point to a violent fight between two tuskers as the likely cause of death, though the exact reason remains unclear pending a post-mortem report. Local residents reported witnessing an intense clash between the two male elephants the previous afternoon, which may have led to the fatality.

According to sources, a large herd of over 40 elephants originating from West Bengal has been roaming and destroying Betanasia and nearby regions for several days.

Upon receiving information from locals, a team of forest officials, including Assistant Conservator of Forests (ACF) Meherban Alli, Divisional Forest Officer (DFO) Gobinda Chandra Biswal, and Rasagobindpur Range Officer Ghanashyam Murmu, rushed to the site. They seized the carcass and arranged for a veterinary post-mortem to determine the precise cause of death.

DFO Biswal stated that the autopsy report would reveal the accurate cause.