Odisha: Four female elephants killed in 12 days in Kalahandi, reason for drinking contaminated water

Four female elephants have died in the last 11 days at the Karlapat Wildlife Century in Kalahandi district of Odisha. The death of another fresh elephant was reported on Thursday after forest officials found the body of a female elephant near the water body inside the century.Similarly, an elephant was killed and recorded on February 9 and 10 near Ghasuriguri area, officials said. According to the information, the first case of elephant death was reported on February 1, when authorities recorded the death of a female elephant near Tetulipada village.Principal Chief Conservator of Forests Shashi Pal said that elephants are dying due to a bacterial infection. He said that it is believed that the water bodies in the forest have been infected. An official said the post-mortem report showed that a deceased female elephant was pregnant and died of septicemia. Divisional Forest Officer of Kalahandi Ashok Kumar says that the post-mortem of the dead elephants has been done by the vet and a formal report is yet to come. The first two elephant test results for anthrax at the Veterinary College of Odisha University of Agriculture and Technology (OUAT) came back negative. However, the lab is still testing it. DFO Ashok Kumar informed that for now the villagers have been denied entry of their animals into the forest. Because it is believed that the water bodies inside the forest have been infected with some virus, which has caused the death of female elephants.He said that the forest officials have been instructed to conduct surveys at the ground level and trekking of elephant herds. Further, Ashok Kumar said that it is not yet known whether any other species of animals has been infected in the forest by this virus.