Elephant found dead in Chhattisgarh’s Surguja district

Forest officials rushed to the spot after being alerted by locals and a three-member team of veterinarians was constituted for the post-mortem, which was done on Saturday.

An elephant was found dead in a forest in Chhattisgarh’s Surajpur district, with a preliminary probe indicating that the pachyderm had been struck by lightning, an official said on Saturday.

The decomposed carcass of a male elephant was recovered near Darhora village under Pratappur forest range on Friday. (Image used for representation). (HT FILE PHOTO.)

The decomposed carcass of a male elephant was recovered near Darhora village under Pratappur forest range on Friday, said Anurag Shrivastava, chief conservator of forest (Surguja Circle).

Forest officials rushed to the spot after being alerted by locals and a three-member team of veterinarians was constituted for the post-mortem, which was done on Saturday, he said.

“According to veterinarians, the tusker died after he was struck by lightning while moving around in the jungle. The carcass had been lying there for seven to eight days,” the CCF said, adding that further probe is underway.

When asked how forest personnel on the ground could not locate the carcass, range officer P C Mishra said an investigation was underway and further action would be taken accordingly.

On March 29 this year, an elephant calf was found dead in Raigarh.