Elephant, injured in IED blast, dies
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The incident marks the second elephant death in the area within a week due to explosive devices allegedly planted by Maoists.
The injured elephant, a makhna (a tuskless male elephant), was spotted by locals in Tirilposi village, Samta forest range, with a severe wound on its left hind leg. Despite efforts by the rapid response team and mobile veterinary unit from the Rourkela forest division, along with veterinary doctors from Keonjhar and Jharkhand, the elephant died on Thursday evening.
Aviroop Sinha, divisional forest officer of Saranda division, expressed concerns over the increasing threat of IEDs in the forest. "The nature of the injury suggests the elephant was a victim of an IED explosion. We are in talks with security personnel to devise strategies to protect these animals from such threats," Sinha said.
The post-mortem of the elephant was conducted on Friday with preliminary findings indicating the cause of death as injuries sustained from an IED explosion.
This follows a similar incident six days prior when an 11-year-old elephant died from grievous injuries caused by an explosive device. The post-mortem report of the earlier incident described 'massive damage and bones charred'.
The presence of IEDs in Saranda forest poses a significant threat not only to wildlife but also to human safety. In response, 20 forest personnel have been deployed across four forest divisions, including Saranda, to monitor animal movements using drones.
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